HEC Chairman Vows to Push for Budget Increase for Universities

News Desk 

Islamabad: Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed has promised to advocate for an increase in the budget for public sector universities with the government.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed made this assurance during a meeting with a delegation from the Academic Staff Association (ASA) of Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad on Wednesday.

The visiting delegation, which included Dr Mazhar Iqbal, Dr Aneesa Sultan, Dr Khalid Saleem, and Dr Fakhar Bilal, highlighted the severe financial challenges faced by Quaid-i-Azam University, the nation’s top-ranking institute of higher learning.

These challenges are leading to the non-payment of salaries for faculty and staff in the coming months. This is despite the fact that the salaries of faculty under the Tenure Track System (TTS), which comprises 65 percent of the total faculty at QAU, have not been increased for several years.

The ASA argued that the Tenure Track System is a highly competitive system, devised specifically to attract and motivate highly capable and productive faculty members.

The system was incentivized through a better pay package, however, due to only intermittent salary revision, the TTS now falls much behind than the regular BPS package, with no post-retirement pension or benefits. 

The ASA-QAU presented a compelling argument for a 60 percent increase in TTS salaries to align with the rise seen in salaries of other government employees in recent years. Additionally, they requested a proportional annual increment in line with government announcements for all government staff.

During discussions, it was highlighted to the HEC chairman that the university’s regular operations were significantly hindered due to financial constraints.

Payments for teaching, laboratory and research support, student fellowships, and medical expenses had been pending since January 2023.

Dr Mukhtar Ahmed informed the QAU delegation that the matter of increasing TTS salaries had already been brought to the attention of the government by the HEC.

He consented to drafting a fresh communication to the government regarding this issue. Additionally, he elaborated on the HEC’s commitment to providing technical and financial aid to universities for the implementation of solar energy solutions, assuring QAU of special attention in this regard.

This initiative is poised to significantly alleviate QAU’s budgetary strain caused by soaring energy expenses.

The Chairman of HEC echoed the concerns raised by ASA regarding the inadequacy of the higher education budget amidst escalating expenditures, fluctuating exchange rates, rising energy costs, and inflationary pressures.

He emphasized that the HEC’s recurring grant from the government has remained stagnant at Rs 65 billion for several years, despite the challenging economic conditions marked by high inflation.