ISLAMABAD, June 21: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been asked by the ministry of finance to meet its Rs6 billion shortfall in recurring expenses through a hike in fees of all public sector universities in the new financial year.

The shortfall resulted because of a last minute 34 per cent cut that was made by top finance managers in the HEC budget.

A senior official told Dawn on Wednesday that the HEC Chairman Dr Attaur Rehman met with finance ministry officials on Tuesday to secure additional funding but he was told in clear terms that the government would provide no more funds than it had already allocated and the shortfall should be met through an increase in fee structure.

The HEC crisis has jeopardised its higher education sector improvement agenda, the official said.

Dr Atta, the official said, had protested the reduction in budget allocation at the highest level which, he believed, would be a major setback to the higher education sector, which had only been given due importance with a phenomenal increase in its budget from few hundred millions in 2001-2002 to Rs16 billion in the next financial year.

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

However, finance division had cut the recurring budget of universities to Rs11.28 billion and suggested that the difference of Rs5.7 billion be met by self-generated funds.

Over the last three to four years, the HEC had started various programmes in the public sector universities, which raised their recurring expenses.

Interestingly, on a number of occasions, both the president and the prime minister had already taken the credit of increasing the HEC budget to Rs16 billion.