KARACHI: NED varsity approves Rs515m budget: HEC’s interference criticised
By Mukhtar Alam
KARACHI, June 27: Anticipating an annual grant of Rs360 million from the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the senate of the NED University of Engineering and Technology on Tuesday approved recurring budget estimates of Rs515.015 million for the financial year 2006-07, with a deficit of Rs23.672 million.
The senate was informed that the varsity hoped to earn Rs94.9 million in the shape of fees, in addition to generating Rs21.25 from various self finance schemes. A total of Rs312.070 million, ie about 63 per cent of the income will go towards pay and allowances of the employees and pension contributions.
An amount of Rs5.694 million (25 per cent of the income earned under the self finance schemes) has been allocated for research activities. As much as 75 per cent of the income generated through the self finance schemes will be utilized for execution of various development works, which included extension of senate hall and examination department, procurement of office equipment and computers for faculty, Department of Biomedical Engineering, construction of staff quarters at city campus, repairs and renovation of administration building, electricity/gas metering at the Staff Colony.
The senate meeting was to be chaired by the Chancellor of the university, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan. However in the absence of the chancellor and the pro-chancellor of the varsity, it was presided over by the NED vice-chancellor, Abul Kalam, who was flanked by Pro-VC Dr Shamsul Haq and the Adviser to the Chancellor Abdul Wahab Sheikh.
Mr Kalam also presented the annual report, which was approved by the senate later. The senate also approved revised budget of 2005-06, some amendments or modifications in the statutes.
One of the members appreciated the vice-chancellor for criticising the HEC on its alleged "unjustified arbitrary threats and pressure tactics" and said that the senate should pass a resolution in favour of the vice-chancellor. However, Mr Kalam observed that such move could be taken as an unnecessary attempt to going for agitation.
"I believe in freedom of speech and it would be enough if the senate is kind to pass the annual report presented by me", he remarked.
In his report, Mr Kalam had noted that the HEC was lumping general and professional varsities of the country together unnecessarily and not aimed at creating any feasible environment for the promotion of higher education in the country.
Referring to the appointment and promotion criteria set by the HEC for faculty members, the vice-chancellor said that the HEC had apparently become jittery and instead of taking any logical steps had begun to victimise universities arbitrarily and consequently unfairly.
"Most important of all, the HEC is still refusing to face the fact that the varsities of engineering and technology have to be treated quite differently from the general universities: in the former postgraduates can never exceed 30 per cent whereas in the later this figure could never be less than 70 per cent", he added.
Mr Kalam went on to show one slide, highlighting some extracts from the minutes of a selection board meeting of the university for grant of Grade 21 to the varsity professors, which was held in October, 2002.
"The HEC has even failed to act on the acceptance by one of its own former executive directors (Dr A Q Mughal) that the rules for BPS-21 promulgated for general universities can not be applied without changes to engineering universities", he mentioned.
Mr Kalam said that the HEC had been imposing conditions for faculty recruitment as well as even more troublesome ones on promotions, which were exclusively administrative by nature.
He also referred to the minutes of a meeting of the chancellor's committee held in May and said this if any of the varsities followed this, it would be violating its own statutes unless those were revised by its statutory bodies and finally by the respective chancellor.
Coming on the development projects, Mr Kalam said that in terms of public sector development programme the total amount sanctioned and released to the NED University was Rs237.574, while 97 per cent of the programme would stand accomplished by June 30, 2006, with the utilization of Rs230.7 millions.
He apprised the members of the senate that the cost per graduate worked out each year had been increasing in consequence of increasing expenditures but remained within the limits envisaged by the Planning Commission.
According to NED documents, the number of admissions to the undergraduate programmes and Master's programmes of the varsity remained 1,580 in 2005-06, while the number of students passing out in the year in question was 846 of the undergraduates and 150 of the Masters' programmes.
At present as many as 8 faculty members are taking doctorate programme at the university, while another 15 aboard. Another 13 are expected to leave as doctorate scholars by September this year.
