HYDERABAD, Aug 1: The senate of the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), Jamshoro, gave its approval to the Rs460 million budget for the fiscal 2006-07 and expenditure statement for the year 2005-06 at its third meeting on Monday.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Jan Mohammad Memon presided over the meeting, which was scheduled to be presided over by Sindh governor but he could not make it.

LUMHS Director Finance Ahsan Ali Kehar said while presenting the budget that the expenditure for 2005-06 stood at Rs391 million, which was strictly within its income.

The budget estimates for the current fiscal year calculated at Rs460 million were prepared on the basis of information conveyed by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) during the last quarter of 2005-06, Mr Kehar said.

He said that the amount included Rs230 million which were to be provided by the HEC, but the commission recently informed that it had cut down the university’s budget to Rs80 million.

He feared that the cut might disturb the university’s financial position for the current fiscal, prompting the meeting to appeal to the HEC not to apply cuts to the university’s recurring grant.

The vice-chancellor said in his address that the LUMHS had progressed into the country’s largest medical university, which had recently embarked on a Rs459 million capital building programme.

He praised the HEC for its help and encouragement and said the commission had enabled the university to undertake many development projects and implement innovative programmes.

He said that the improved system of undergraduate admissions to the university and its affiliated colleges, which was launched during last year, was an achievement.

Over 4,000 candidates had applied for admission to undergraduate classes and 1,956 for postgraduate courses but only a few hundred were able to get through the entry and test to qualify for admission, he said.

Mr Memon said that the university launched the PhD programme in 2004 which had 15 credit hours in different subjects. The university organised 30 seminars, symposia, workshops and lectures during the year under review, he added.

He appreciated the Sindh government’s continuous support for ensuring the university’s smooth running and also for providing funds for the establishment of a centrally air-conditioned library for postgraduate advance centre.