The Vice Chancellors of 21 public universities in Sindh have penned a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, requesting Rs 16 billion to avoid default. The letter, signed by the Vice Chancellors, expresses concern over the withholding of federal government grants to provincial universities, including 29 public sector universities in Sindh. The Vice Chancellors stated that the federal government provides over Rs 13 billion to Sindh’s universities through the Higher Education Commission (HEC), which has been frozen since 2018. The letter expressed hope that the Prime Minister will take necessary steps to stabilize and support universities and higher education institutions, considering the high returns on investment in education, as seen in countries like China, Korea, Malaysia, and India.

The Vice Chancellors emphasized that increasing investment in education, particularly higher and technical education, is a significant development given the current financial crisis in Pakistan. It is pertinent to mention here that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) stopped funding for provincially chartered universities as the federal government has made a big cut in its grant from 65 billion to 25 billion rupees. The HEC had requested 126 billion rupees to support 160 universities nationwide, but the federal government decided to reduce the previously allocated 65 billion rupees. As a result, the HEC will no longer provide funds to provinces, and universities will now have to rely on provincial financing funding.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan