Teachers’ association seeks Rs130 billion increase in HEC recurring grant

HYDERABAD: The Mehran University Teachers Association (MUTA) has criticised what it described as the federal budget’s failure to adequately address the financial requirements of higher education institutions, and has called for a substantial increase in funding for the Higher Education Commission.

In a statement issued on Monday, MUTA president Dr Nafees Ahmed Memon and general secretary Dr Arshad Memon said the government should raise the proposed recurring grant for the HEC from Rs66.4 billion to Rs130 billion in the 2026-27 budget. They also warned of launching a protest campaign if their demands were not reflected in the next budget.

According to the association’s office-bearers, the HEC had originally submitted a request for a Rs138 billion recurring grant and later reduced that demand to at least Rs100 billion. They said the proposed allocation of Rs66.4 billion was insufficient in view of the financial pressures facing universities.

MUTA also urged the government to raise education spending to at least 4% of gross domestic product over the next five years. The association’s leaders said South Asian countries including Bhutan and the Maldives were allocating 5.8% and 5.2% of their GDP, respectively, to education.

The teachers’ body further demanded the restoration of a 75% tax rebate for university teachers and researchers, notification of salary revision under the Tenure Track System, and implementation of a uniform promotion policy for employees in the basic pay scale. It said the tax rebate had first been reduced in 2013 and was later abolished in 2025.

Dr Memon said economic indicators showed that inflation and currency depreciation had significantly eroded the real value of the HEC’s recurring grant, reducing its effective worth by nearly half.