CHITRAL: The people have criticised the PTI government over drastic cut to funding for the University of Chitral and feared that the availability of limited funds will hamper the construction of campus in the next financial year.

The university functioning in a building of the technical education department has 2,000 students enrolled in 10 humanities and science departments.

The university established by merging the regional campuses of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University and Abdul Wali Khan University was opened by the ruling PTI’s chief, Imran Khan, on July 5, 2017.

While announcing budget for the next fiscal, the provincial government recently allocated Rs1.24 billion for the university’s recurring expenses and purchase of land for putting up campus.

The last budget had Rs840 million for land purchase but it isn’t there in the next budget.

Ironically, the PTI government hasn’t released Rs840 million funding until now this fiscal.

Of the Rs402 million to be allocated for the university in 2019-20, Rs290 million is for recurring expenses leaving behind only Rs132 million for the purchase of land.

The Rs3 billion was reflected in the federal budget for the first time in 2017 for the construction of the university’s own campus but the provincial government didn’t provide land for the purpose.

The amount was reflected in the last federal budget as well but it couldn’t be released due to the provincial government’s failure to allot land.

Noted academician of Chitral Dr Inayatullah Faizi resented the drastic cut to the university’s funding and non-allocation of funds for it in the 2019-20 federal budget.

He said PTI chief Imran Khan had commended the then chief minister, Pervez Khattak, on July 5, 2017, in Chitral for fulfilling his 2015 promise of establishing a university in the district.

“The people of Chitral had high hopes about the construction of the university’s own campus after the PTI formed governments in the province as well as the centre but they all proved false,” he said.

When contacted, minority MPA of the PTI and chairman of the district development advisory committee of Chitral Wazir Zada claimed that the Chitral university project was part of the next budget.

He justified reduction in allocations for the project saying at the request of the university’s administration, the provincial government had agreed to give away the adjoining spacious building of the agricultural research station and farmland to the university for putting up its campus, so less land would be required.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2019