F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: The University of Peshawar (UoP), one of the oldest and leading institutions of higher education in the country, is facing critical financial crises having no funds to pay salaries to 2800 employees and 1540 pensioners on February 1.
Apprehensive of the situation, VC UoP Dr M. Asif Khan wrote a letter to Chief Minister KP Mehmood Khan on January 27 and requested to provide at-least Rs 200 million bailout package to enable the varsity to pay forthcoming salary and pensions to its employees, a copy of official letter available with this agency revealed.
The VC also requested t-he KP government to app-rove grant of Rs 150 million for the university to meet its monthly operational expenditure, the varsity spokesman confirmed to media. According to the letter, the VC informed that both Higher Education Commission and provincial government had been continuously informed about the critical financial position of the varsity from last several months and grant of bailout package but to no use.
The main reason of the shortfall was told insufficient increase in grant over the period of last 12 years, it said, adding the grant was not correspondingly increased over the period to match the burgeoning expenditure on salary and pension as announced by the government meanwhile.
It said that from financial year 2006-07 to 2018-19 the salaries’ amount increased 270 percent with Rs 470 million in 2006-07 to Rs 1737 million in 2018-19 while the pension increased 979 percent with Rs 84 million in 2006-07 to Rs 906 million in 2018-19.
It said that against an increase of Rs 2089 million in salary and pension, the increase in government grant for the same period was only 819 million despite the fact that the university was following the government basic pay scales and pension rules since 1970s.
Currently the university has to pay Rs 160 million under the head of salary and Rs 70 million for pens-ion, Rs 133.40 million for commutation, Rs 20 million for utilities and Rs 20 for miscellaneous expenditure.
The letter further added that the varsity had taken several measures to overcome the deficit in the last two years by increasing students’ enrolment, hostels revenue and succeeded to generate Rs 325 million, however the amount was not enough to meet the ever increasing expenditure on accounts of salaries and pensions. It said the university had Rs 69.611 million cash in all its bank accounts in different banks against the shortfall of Rs 203. 597million.
