MULTAN City News

‘Steps taken to end corruption from BZU’

From Our Correspondent

MULTAN: The Bahauddin Zakariya University has adopted stringent measures for transparency, elimination of corruption and reducing budget deficit, said BZU Treasure Dr Muhammad Umar Farooq.

Presenting the university budget for fiscal year 2016/17 here, he said that the university had decided to complete automation of finance system. He said that the budget deficit had been reduced to Rs 230 million as compared to the last year when the institution faced deficit of Rs 901 million. He said that the university had increased the number of seats, besides reducing tuition and hostel fees of the Institute of Social Sciences known as Distance Learning. He said that BZU Vice-Chancellor Dr Tahir Amin had created an endowment fund to combat with the current deficit with initial seed money of Rs 200 million at the best possible mark-up. The USAID, the British Council and the JICA would be requested to invest in the endowment fund for welfare of the institution, he added.

BZU Treasure Umar Farooq said that the Higher Education Commission would be requested for more funds, besides approaching the chamber of commerce and industry and the BZU alumni living abroad. He said that the university syndicate had constituted a committee for receiving complaints on Distance Learning fees schedule.

Giving details of the BZU budget, the treasurer said that the university income was Rs 7,258.404 million against the expected expenditure of Rs 7,494.023 million, leaving a deficit of Rs 235.619 million. The university would receive Rs 2,991.612 million from external sources, including HEC grant (recurring) Rs 1,355.509 million, HEC grant (development) Rs 771.105 million and Punjab government grant (development) Rs 864.998 millions, he added. He said that the university would generate Rs 1,053.391 million from own resources, including income from regular fee worth Rs 1,499.407 million, Rs 351.4 million from university share and Rs 701.991 million from departmental share. The university was expected to earn Rs 20.150 million from fixed deposits, he added.

The treasurer said that the university had allocated Rs 4,513.449 million for non-development expenditures, including Rs 2,614.337 million for pay and allowances. A sum of Rs 2,287.204 million had been allocated for development and new projects, Rs 771.105 million for the HEC projects and Rs 864.998 million for Punjab government projects, he added. He said that a sum of Rs 693.371 million had been allocated for self-supporting evening programmes.