UoP needs Rs 575m to meet its recurrent financial needs

PESHAWAR: University of Peshawar is in dire need of Rs.575 million to meet its re-current financial needs for fiscal year 2011-12, said a spokesman of UoP here Monday

The Higher Education Commission had released 745 million rupees to UoP for fiscal year 2010-11 in which 50% adhoc relief announced in budget to employees of the University was not included. After this on the request of Public Sector Universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa some amount was released to them to accommodate the additional adhoc allowance to employees.

In this connection University of Peshawar has allocated an additional 265.5 million rupees as well. Thus the total re-current budget released to meet day to day expenses and salary of the employees of UoP for fiscal year 2010-11 was 1010 million rupees.

Contrary to the previous fiscal year, the total re-current grant announced for University of Peshawar in fiscal year 2011-12 is 837 million rupees which are at the normal increase (inflation) rate of12.5% to the last year's 745 million rupees.

This did not include the last year's adhoc relief announced for employees as well as the newly announced revised pay scales and 15% increase in salary from the Government to University employees. The total financial impact on University of Peshawar to pay the 50%adhoc allowance of 2010-11 is around 270 million which is not announced or released to UoP but still it has managed to pay that to employees for the first two month of the current financial year.

While the total impact of the new revised pay scale and 15% increase in salary to employees for the current year is 278 million rupees in addition which the University is unable to pay.

It is pertinent to mention that monthly salary of University of Peshawar employees is around 70 million rupees while with the revised pay scale and 15% increase, this figure is likely to cross 100 million rupees per month.

The Vice Chancellor of all public sector Universities in a meeting held in August 2011 had unanimously resolved that since salary increase of 50% last year and 15% this year announced by the Federal Government is without additionally in the recurring budget of Universities, they are constrained to request an audience with the Chancellor to strategize this issue.

The Vice Chancellor calculated that in order to meet the increase in salaries all the public sector Universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa required two billion rupees in addition. The Higher Education Commission meanwhile in response to the request of Universities for enhancement in recurring grant had clarified that there are no further funds available with them this time to provide additional recurring grant support to Universities.