ISLAMABAD: The Federation of all Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) has called upon the provincial governments to allocate maximum funds for higher education in the upcoming budget.

The Council of Common Interest (CCI), in its meeting in May 2011, had put the onus of financing of provincial universities and population welfare on the federal government till next NFC Award which is due in near future.

FAPUASA said under the 18th Amendment the universities were already under the administrative control of the provincial governments, hence the provincial governments should realise their financial responsibilities.

The association has asked the provincial governments to expedite the process for setting up of provincial higher education setups so that governance and financial related issues might be resolved in an efficient manner.

The Secretary General FAPUASA Dr Kaleemullah Berach while talking to Dawn urged the federal and provincial governments to allocate 25 per cent of total education budget to higher education as per international standards.

“The federal government should also review withdrawal of tax rebate over the salaries of researchers and university teachers as this decision is hindering research culture in Pakistani universities,” he said.

He expressed concern over neglecting social sciences at the national level as Higher Education Commission (HEC) had failed to select a social sciences’ scholar for National Distinguished Professor award.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2014