Proposals reviewed to resolve financial issues of universities

PESHAWAR: A meeting was held to discuss issues being faced by the public sector universities of the province with caretaker Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Syed Arshad Hussain Shah in the chair.

Concerned caretaker provincial ministers, administrative secretaries of departments, the chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) and other officers attended the meeting.

The participants reviewed various proposals in order to steer the universities out of current financial crunches.

Both the provincial government and HEC expressed their commitment to work jointly for addressing the financial and administrative issues being faced by the public sector universities across the province. It was agreed that government’s grant to the universities would subject to their improved financial discipline.

The meeting also decided to complete the ongoing process for the appointment of vice chancellors in public sector universities as soon as possible. The participants agreed in principle with the proposal to merge the university campuses having lower enrollments.

Similarly, it was agreed to introduce courses in line with the demand of modern market and to ensure implementation of improved educational process as an essential service in the higher educational institutions.

The caretaker chief minister urged the need to have a comprehensive and all time solution to address the financial issues of government universities in the province adding that his government was moving on to this effect in consultation with all the stakeholders.

He made it clear that we have to prepare and implement viable financial plans to make public sector universities financially stable and self-reliant. Underlining the need to align higher education sector with the requirements of contemporary world, he said that it is imperative to introduce market-based courses instead of traditional education in the universities. The caretaker provincial government is very sincere and committed to take all possible steps for this purpose, he remarked.