Fate of 20 KP varsities hangs in the balance after federal funding cut

PESHAWAR: After the federal government has decided to stop annual funding for public sector universities in the four provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, starting from the new financial year, the decision has hung the fate of 20 universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, already facing a financial crisis, in the balance.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has called a high-level meeting on Monday to thrash out a strategy to cope with the issue. The provincial government also plans to take the issue to the Council of Common Interests (CCI), sources said.

According to a senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa official, the provincial government had requested Rs14 billion from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for its 34 public sector universities for the 2024-25 fiscal year. However, the federal government has decided to cut funds for public sector universities from Rs65 billion to Rs25 billion, allocating these funds only to federal area universities. This has left the provincial universities with no federal funding.

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Provincial officials said that 20 universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are currently in severe financial distress. The most affected include the University of Peshawar, University of Engineering Peshawar, University of Agriculture Peshawar, Islamia University Peshawar, and Gomal University DI Khan.

The University of Peshawar, University of Agriculture, and University of Engineering reportedly lack funds to pay salaries and pensions for May and June, officials said.

Provincial Minister of Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi said that the federal government’s decision to cut funds violates a Supreme Court ruling. He said that the provincial government will take up the issue with the CCI while Chief Minister Gandapur intends to discuss the matter with the federal government and a high-level meeting has been summoned on Monday to devise a strategy.

According to the Chairman of the Campus Coordination Committee and Vice Chancellor of the University of Agriculture Peshawar Prof Jahan Bakht, more than 20 universities in the province are already facing a financial crisis. Now, he said, the federal government has decided to stop providing funds to them, resulting in an uncertain future for these universities. He said that the provincial government should adopt an alternative solution in this regard, otherwise, either the universities will increase their fees, or they will be shut down.

Provincial Adviser on Finance Muzamil Aslam noted that the federal government has slashed the higher education budget from Rs83 billion to Rs32 billion, potentially bankrupting the universities. He emphasised that it was time for universities to reassess their budgets.