Governor, others discuss varsities financial woes

PESHAWAR: The authorities seem helpless to overcome the worst financial conditions and the repeated prolonged strikes and duty boycotts at certain universities as a meeting held on Wednesday remained limited to mere advice and suggestions to the universities regarding financial management instead of coming up with a concrete solution.

The universities have been unable to pay salaries and pensions to their employees.

The academic and administrative activities in the major universities especially those in the provincial metropolis have literally been suspended due to the two-month-long protest campaign and duty boycott by the low-paid employees.

Governor Ghulam Ali, who is also the chancellor of the public sector universities, presided over the meeting to find out some solution to the situation. The meeting was attended by chairman Higher Education Commission Prof Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, caretaker ministers Dr Qasim Jan and Dr Najibullah, University of Peshawar acting vice-chancellor Dr Saleem, vice-chancellor Malakand University Dr Rasheed Ahmad, a few more vice-chancellors and administrative secretaries.

Dr Mukhtar was clear and candid in his talk to the meeting.

He said that the financial problems of the universities could not be resolved by funding from the federal government.

The provincial governments and the universities themselves would have to take steps for overcoming their worsening financial issues, he stressed.

He said that it was time to rectify the system and everyone would have to fulfil his responsibilities for bringing the universities out of the crisis-like situation. He suggested that distance learning was one option to assist the universities on both academic and financial fronts.

The governor spoke about the pain he was feeling while looking at the conditions of the universities. “The protests, strikes and boycotts will not improve the situation. The universities would have to take tangible steps to get out of the crisis and make progress towards self-reliance,” he added.

He said that the best solution of the universities’ problems rested in the best education and quality research.

The government was trying its level best to provide the best facilities to the faculty and staff of the universities so that they could impart quality education to their students. But despite huge spendings, the situation in the universities was sorrowful, he remarked.

He expressed his optimism that the current crisis in the universities would be resolved with the support of the provincial government.

However, one of the most serious problems that every sector in the province has been facing is the lack of a full-time government as the caretaker government has many things beyond its mandate.

“As far as financial disciplines in the public sector universities are concerned, the authorities at every level have been unable to take the right measures,” said an educationalist.

They consider increase in fees as the only remedy and thus the fees and charges in the public sector universities have gone higher than the private universities, he said, adding, the standard of academic and research in the public sector universities is also very low.

Twenty universities in the province have been functioning without a regular vice-chancellor. Several of the universities don’t have even acting heads to run the routine affairs of those institutions.

The academic and search committee for appointment of vice-chancellors is also not in place. The positions for vice-chancellors of several universities had been advertised some two years back, but no appointment could be made for a host of reasons.