July 06, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 9, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, July 5: The Senate’s standing committee on education, science and technology has expressed concern over the government’s decision to decrease the Higher Education Commission’s budget from Rs15.74 billion to Rs11.28 billion.

HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi informed the committee in its meeting presided over by Senator Razina Alam Khan on Wednesday that the decrease in the allocation would slow down the measures taken by the commission to improve the standard of higher education.

He said the chancellors’ committee, in a meeting presided over by President Pervez Musharraf on May 11 had vowed to implement its earlier decision to enhance annual recurring and development grant for the higher education sector by 50 per cent.

Members of the committee said the decrease in the HEC’s budget would adversely affect its various programmes.

The committee opposed the idea of increasing tuition fees in the universities.

It called upon the government to allocate additional funds for the HEC as supplementary grant for carrying out its projects.

It stressed upon the HEC to produce quality PhDs and suggested that PhD allowance should be extended to other institutions also.

The committee expressed dissatisfaction over the reported decision of the Fatima Jinnah Women University to give admission to boys.

Regarding the committee’s resolution to share 50 per cent cost of improving the standard of faculties in private universities, it was informed that the president had constituted a committee comprising the HEC chairman, the Planning Commission deputy chairman and the finance secretary to submit a report regarding mechanism in this regard.

The committee’s members observed that more attention should be given to improve higher education in Balochistan.

The original recurring budget agreed by the finance division for universities was Rs15.7 billion. Subsequently the government announced a 15 per cent increase in the salaries of teachers amounting to Rs1.2 billion, making the total requirement Rs16.9 billion.

However, the finance division has cut the recurring budget to Rs11.28 billion and is suggesting that the difference of Rs5.7 billion be met by self-generated funds, such as through a many-fold increase in fees.