The University of Peshawar (UoP) is in need of Rs 575 million Rupees to meet its expenditures for fiscal year 2011-12. According to varsity officials, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had released Rs 745 million to the UoP for the fiscal year 2010-11 in which the 50 percent adhoc relief for employees was not included.
Later, on the request of public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, some amount was released to provide for the additional adhoc allowance to employees. In this connection, the UoP was allocated an additional Rs 265.5 million as well. Thus the total recurrent budget released to meet the UoP expenses and employee salaries for 2010-11 was Rs 1,010 million. Contrary to the previous fiscal year, the total recurrent grant announced for the UoP in 2011-12 was Rs 837 million, which was an equivalent of the previous year’s Rs 745 million adjust for 12.5 percent inflation rate and excluding the 50 percent adhoc relief for employees and the 15 percent increase in salaries.
The total impact adhoc allowance amounting to Rs 270 million was neither announced nor released to the UoP, but the university still managed to pay the employees for the first two months of the current financial year. Similarly, the total impact of 15 percent increase in employee salaries amounted to an additional Rs 278 million, which the university was unable to pay.
The vice chancellor (VC) of all public sector universities, in a meeting, held in August 2011 had resolved that since salary increase of 50% last year and 15% this year announced by the Federal Government was without additionality in the recurring budget of the universities, they were constrained to request an audience with the chancellor to strategise the issue. The VC said to meet the increase in salaries, all the public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa required an additional Rs 2 billion.
Meanwhile, the HEC, in response to the VC’s request, clarified that there were no further funds available with the commission to provide additional recurring grant to support the universities.