LAHORE, June 27: The Punjab University Syndicate is to approve a Rs1.565 billion deficit budget for 2012-13 on Thursday (today). The carry forward deficit is Rs618.292 million.

The university administration blames the deficit on the withholding of the fourth quarter installment of Rs227 million grant of the Higher Education Commission besides an increase in faculty and employees’ salaries and inflation.

The PU Syndicate is presenting Rs5.534 billion budget estimates with an income of Rs4.587 billion. The budget deficit of Rs946.54 million (21 per cent) plus carry forward deficit of Rs618.292 million shoots up the deficit to Rs1.565 billion.

According to the budget 2012-2013 document, the university expects an HEC grant of Rs1.482 billion (32 per cent), Tenure Track grant of Rs69.896 million (two per cent) and Rs3.036 billion from varsity’s own resources.

The university will spend 67 per cent on salaries and pension, Rs396.9 million (seven per cent) on conduct and remuneration of examination; Rs497.94 million (nine per cent) on utility charges, Rs85 million (two per cent) on research, Rs151.96 million (three per cent) on scholarships for teachers and students, Rs362.306 million (seven per cent) on development and Rs269.739 million (five per cent) on other current expenditures.

According to the budget highlights, the university has also allocated Rs50 million as seed money for the establishment of the PU Medical and Dental College.

The university has allocated Rs75 million for overseas scholarships, Rs31 million for national and international conferences, Rs50 million for POL and residential telephones for teachers, Rs18 million for laptops for teachers and labs, Rs312 million for lap equipments, furniture and development projects, Rs72 million for scholarships to students; Rs40 million for libraries, Rs2.5 million for co-curricular activities of students, and Rs10 million for hostel facilities.

The budget also highlights that there will be no increase in tuition and hostel fees. The university will continue offering free education for sports students, free education and boarding for special students, free education and boarding facilities for Balochistan students on reserved seats, and tuition fee waiver for Hafiz-i-Quran.

PU Budget Committee Chairman Prof Dr Ehsan Malik said the university administration, despite resource constraints, had allocated Rs85 million for research. He said the university did not increase tuition fee which was still far less than the fee charged at other public universities in Lahore.

Prof Malik said the university had abolished budgeted non-faculty employees’ seats to meet expenditures. He said the university was facing a crisis of over-employment in non-faculty cadres. At present, he said, the university had some 6,000 employees for 15,000 students studying in regular morning classes.

Sources also said that the university did not has a full-time Treasurer since March 2010 and financial matters were being looked after by acting treasurer including this 2012-13 financial year budget estimates.