PESHAWAR: Vice Chancellors (VC) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa universities attended a conference at the University of Peshawar on Thursday to review the academic, administrative and financial challenges facing public sector universities in KP.
Dr Aamer Abdullah, member of the Advisory Council for Education KP attended the conference as chief guest.
Secretary Higher Education, Archives and Libraries Abidullah Kakakhel, Special Secretary Fazal Hussain, Director Quality Assurance, Higher Education, Dr Imranullah Marwat, vice chancellors of public sector universities of the province and other senior administrative officials also attended the conference.
The conference aimed to identify key challenges confronting public sector universities and develop effective, practical recommendations through collective deliberations and consultation.
Addressing the conference, Dr Aamer Abdullah said that education and learning were the fundamental purposes of university life.
He stressed that students should be provided with an environment conducive to their academic needs. He added that monitoring student activities was essential to ensure that their time on campus was devoted to positive and constructive pursuits.
He stated that the government had a zero-tolerance policy towards all forms of negative activities on university campuses.
University administrations, therefore, should also adopt a firm approach and show no leniency in this regard. He emphasised that campuses must be kept free from all forms of undesirable activities.
The member of the Advisory Council for Education stressed the need for universities to pay particular attention to strengthening their financial governance.
He expressed concern over the existing state of internal audit systems at universities and called for improvements to ensure effective financial oversight and accountability.
Referring to the modern phase of university development, Dr Aamer Abdullah said that strong financial systems played a vital role in enabling leading universities around the world to achieve stability and distinction.
Such institutions adopted diverse strategies to strengthen their financial resources and reduce dependence on external funding, allowing them to invest more effectively in research, academic development and competitiveness.
Vice Chancellor of the University of Peshawar Prof Johar Ali, Secretary Higher Education, Archives and Libraries Abidullah Kakakhel and other senior officials of the Higher Education Department also addressed the conference.
Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2026
