ISLAMABAD:The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) has strongly demanded from the central and all provincial governments to increase the budget for public sector universities across the country in the new annual budget 2023-2024.
The demand was made in a joint statement by the FAPUASA President Prof. Dr Kaleemullah Bareech, Vice President Prof. Dr Farrukh Arsalan, General Secretary Prof. Dr Akhtiar Ali Ghumro and members of the Central Executive Council Prof. Dr Bashir Ahmed, Engr Mian Abdul Mubeen and cabinet members of all provincial chapters.
They demanded of the federal government to allocate Rs. 500 billion in the recurring budget for the higher education sector and Rs. 200 billion in the development budget and also strongly demanded from the provincial governments to increase the grants in aid of the universities of their respective provinces. They regretted that despite the high inflation rate i.e. 38%, during the last five years, the budget for the higher education sector remained stagnant.
The higher education sector had to face budgetary cuts and delays in payments which resulted in non-payment of salaries to the universities’ staff, they said, adding the higher education sector was facing a crisis-like situation across the country.
They said in their statement that all the developed countries of the world allocate at least 5 percent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and neighboring countries up to 4 percent of their GDP for the education sector, while Pakistan allocates barely 2 percent of its GDP for the education sector, there can be no development and prosperity with this low budgetary allocation for education.
In the statement, all the provincial chapters of FAPUASA and the academic staff associations of all the universities were requested to organize demonstrations and budget seminars for the increase in the budget of the universities together with the officers and employees association in the universities to create awareness and request the central and provincial governments to increase the budget.