PHC orders KP government to address universities’ financial crisis

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday voiced concern over the financial difficulties facing public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and directed the provincial chief secretary to convene a meeting of all stakeholders, including the relevant secretaries, to address the matter.

A bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed ordered that a report be prepared after the meeting and submitted to the court. The bench also summoned the chairman of the Higher Education Commission for May 5, the next hearing date in a petition over the continued delay in the payment of pension and arrears to retired employees of the University of Peshawar.

The petition was filed by Dr Nasrullah Jan and several other former university employees. During proceedings, the bench observed that a comprehensive strategy was required to deal with the situation.

Counsel for the petitioners, Nazir Ahmad, told the court that universities were facing an acute financial crisis and did not have enough resources even for basic requirements. He said retired employees of the university were experiencing delays in the payment of pensions and arrears.

University cites major shortfall

University of Peshawar Vice-Chancellor Dr Johar Ali appeared before the court along with counsel Wasimud Din Khattak and Deputy Registrar Riaz Ali. He informed the bench that the university was facing a funding gap of Rs2.07 billion and said additional support from the federal government was necessary.

According to the vice-chancellor, the university did not have sufficient resources even to pay teachers’ salaries and pensions, and there was a daily concern over arranging funds. The court was also told that 25,000 students were currently enrolled at the university while the financial strain had deepened.

The bench also expressed concern over rising fees, observing that high charges were beyond the reach of ordinary students. It was suggested during the hearing that fees should be recovered from those who could afford them, while the government should earmark funds for needy students and provide scholarships.

When the judges asked about the declining standard of the university and the reasons behind it, the vice-chancellor maintained that the University of Peshawar was among the top eight universities in the country.

The bench observed that a comprehensive strategy needed to be devised to tackle the situation.

Court seeks actionable proposals

The court observed that it would be appropriate for all relevant authorities to jointly prepare a comprehensive report containing actionable proposals to overcome the present financial deficits, shortage of resources and other issues confronting universities.

An additional secretary of the higher education department told the bench that funds were being released to universities under a formula and that meetings were being held on the issue. The bench remarked that if steps were being taken, their impact should also be visible.

The court noted that last year, on its directions, the university had constituted an internal dispute resolution committee to examine and address issues raised by various teachers.

In comments submitted through its vice-chancellor, the University of Peshawar argued that the petition was not maintainable and should be dismissed. It stated that the outstanding commutation and arrears would be paid to the petitioners when funds were received from the provincial government and the Higher Education Commission.

The university further stated that the non-payment of arrears was not wilful or intentional, but was the result of severe financial constraints that had prevented it from paying pensioners, including the petitioners.

The provincial government had also taken the position in one of the previous hearings that under Section 6(3) of the KP Universities Act, 2012, public sector universities were autonomous institutions and therefore did not merit a share from public funds.