LAHORE:The Punjab University syndicate body has approved Rs 16.619 billion budget and sent it for approval of the Senate for the financial year 2023-24.
The PU syndicate, in its 1751st meeting, chaired by Vice Chancellor Prof Dr. Khalid Mahmood, approved the budget on Saturday, a budget document of the PU said.
Meanwhile, official sources said that on the direction of the vice-chancellor to increase further the international ranking of the PU and socioeconomic impact research, the university administration allocated Rs 264 million, with an increase of Rs 38 million, as compared to last year’s amount, as per its policy to promote research culture.
According to the budget document, other salient features included free education for special students, along with boarding facilities, while students taking admission on a sports basis will be provided with free education.
The university will continue to waive off the tuition fee of Hafiz-e-Quran. The Punjab University will provide Rs 247 million in scholarships to students.
Moreover, the HEC scholarships worth Rs 122 million and Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) scholarships will also be provided to students. The deficit of Rs 2 billion would be managed by introducing new market-based programmes, reducing expenditures, and adopting austerity measures. The syndicate members appreciated the efforts of the university.
In the budget, the Punjab University would continue to provide subsidies of millions of rupees to students in hostel, transport, and internet heads, and in addition to the above, subsidy on electricity bills in teaching departments was also being provided. The university also allocated Rs 1.1 billion for development projects.