Parliament Slams Cuts to Higher Education

Nadeem Tanoli

Islamabad: The government on Friday came under sharp scrutiny in Parliament over shrinking scholarship funds, university admissions policies, and the absence of new higher-education initiatives in Punjab’s Gujrat–Kharian region, as the Ministry of Education acknowledged financial strain and limited capacity to meet rising demand.

Responding to a question raised by MNA Anjum Aqeel Khan, Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said Pakistan continues to offer several foreign scholarship routes — including the Pak-US Knowledge Corridor, Overseas Scholarship Phase III, IRSIP research fellowships, Stipendium Hungaricum, and government-to-government programs with China, Cuba, and the Commonwealth. 

However, he conceded that available resources fall short of supporting all eligible candidates.

According to the Ministry, five Public Sector Development Programme–funded foreign scholarship schemes carry a combined cost of Rs. 54.69 billion, with Rs. 5.5 billion allocated for the current fiscal year. 

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The IRSIP short-term research program alone has been allotted Rs. 450 million for 2025–26. Despite these allocations, the Minister admitted that oversubscription and persistent “financial challenges” — including stagnant recurring budgets and a 35 percent cut in development grants — are constraining further expansion.

The government’s admission policies also came under discussion when Senator Tahira Aurangzeb asked whether students from Islamabad and Rawalpindi enjoy any exclusive quota in public universities based in the capital. 

The Minister clarified that no such quota exists. Admissions are conducted largely on open merit, he said, with the exception of Quaid-i-Azam University and the National Skills University, where the Punjab regional quota includes the Islamabad Capital Territory. 

Other universities, he noted, operate as autonomous bodies and follow open competition, aside from reserved seats for categories such as GB, FATA, and students with disabilities.

In a separate query, MNA Mohammad Ilyas Choudhary highlighted the lack of federal investment in the Gujrat–Kharian–Sarai Alamgir belt. The Ministry confirmed that no proposal is under consideration at the Higher Education Commission for establishing a new federal university or public campus in the region.

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Officials said the only development currently in process is the parliamentary review of a charter for the private-sector Al Mussadiq Institute of Higher Education in Kharian. 

The area, they added, is already served by a campus of the federally chartered Air University, while district Gujrat hosts three provincially chartered institutions: the University of Gujrat (2004), the University of Chenab (2021), and Mukabbir University of Science & Technology (2025).

Opposition lawmakers criticised the absence of a federal institution in one of the region’s most populous corridors, calling it evidence of chronic underinvestment in higher education. Education experts also warned that tightening budgets and intensifying demand could deepen disparities in scholarship access, quality education, and regional equity.