VCs ask govt not to cut Higher Education Commission funding
Islamabad: A meeting of the vice-chancellors' committee held here on Monday called upon the government not to stop the steep trajectory of development varsities were put on during the last five years.
The meeting was held to seek suggestions from the heads of varsities to devise a resolution on the issue.
The meeting brought together about sixty vice-chancellors of public sector varsities from all over the country.
Due to the huge budgetary cuts, only 30 per cent of the allocated funds were released to Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the last quarter. The reductions resulted in withdrawal of as many as 85 projects initiated by the HEC. The commission was also deprived of more allocations for foreign scholarships.
About 500 scholars who were selected for scholarships in the current year could not be sent abroad due to the financial constraints, while those already sent abroad were also facing financial hardships.
The participants were unanimous in their opinion that if not given due importance, the situation could lead to devastating consequences including lawlessness on the campuses.
They said the drastic cuts could also affect the quality of education being imparted at the public varsities as it was affecting various projects initiated by the varsities.
They feared that if treated like public schools, the varsities too will soon lose status among the public.
They also felt the need for a strong political will on part of the government to deal with the issue on a priority basis. The level of commitment shown by the government at present is very low and there is a need for rethinking as setting the priorities was concerned, they noted.
"The government has not taken any step to improve the situation rather is depending on mere slogans and good will gestures to run the affairs," remarked one of the participants.
The committee after a thorough discussion passed a resolution demanding priority for higher education in particular inclusion of education as the first item in the national budget, increase in education budget in line with norms in the world especially in the regional countries. Dawn
..........................
