The development budget for the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) has been cut down by around 14 per cent for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
According to a local media report, the federal government will not fund more than 40 projects that were included in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) as unapproved projects. However, there will be no cuts in the budget for ongoing development projects and non-development expenditure.
Previously, the government had designated Rs35 billion for development schemes for the ongoing fiscal year and at the same time “allocated funds for a number of unapproved development projects”.
It was reported that the new government decided to give the HEC Rs30 billion instead of the previously approved Rs35 billion.
Some of the unapproved projects included the construction of a hostel and sports facilities at the Karakorum International University, the development of academic and research infrastructure for the University of Gwadar, the development of a campus management system with implementation of the financial management system and human resource management system – HEC e-Campus, the development of the main campus of Bacha Khan University in Charsadda and the development of the Rawalpindi Medical University.
