PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has ordered the University of Swabi’s Senate to expeditiously resolve the matter of provision of brain drain allowance (BDA) to its teachers having PhD qualification.

A bench consisting of Justice Musarrat Hilali and Justice Ijaz Anwer disposed of a petition jointly filed by Prof Mukhtar Alam and 31 other university teachers seeking an order to declare illegal the non-provision of the BDA to them.

The petitioners had also sought the court’s orders for respondents, including the University of Swabi’s vice-chancellor, to act in accordance with the law and ensure the due payment of the BDA to them along with arrears from the date of the allowance’s approval under the statutes of the university.

The bench directed the university’s management to place the matter before the Senate of the educational institution to resolve it expeditiously and not later than two months from the date of the receipt of the detailed judgement.

Denial of ‘brain drain allowance’ challenged by teachers with doctorates

Advocate Rehmanullah Shah appeared for the petitioners, whereas Barrister Syed Saad Ali Shah represented the respondents, including the university’s VC, treasurer and registrar.

Barrister Saad submitted comments about the petition on behalf of the respondents saying the disputed BDA had never been denied by the university and rather, its payment was withheld by the Senate, the university’s apex forum, in its meeting on June 23, 2021.

He said the Senate had cited the reason of framing of proper mechanism for disbursement of the said allowance by the higher education and establishment departments for all universities in the province.

Mr Saad contended that all admissible allowances were subject to the approval by the university’s syndicate with reason to be recorded and were not mandatory to be given to the university employees under Section 4(1)(b) of Chapter 9 of the Statutes.

The petitioners’ counsel said the statutes of the University of Swabi were approved by the chancellor (governor) and notified by the Governor’s Secretariat on Oct 16, 2017.

He said Chapter 9 of the statutes declared that the University of Swabi, Teachers Appointment and Scale of Pay Statutes, 2016, included different allowances for the employees.

The lawyer added that Section 8(xii) of those statutes provided that the BDA should be provided to PhD degree holders equivalent to 40 percent of the basic pay.

He contended that being employees of different departments in the university and having PhD degrees, the petitioners drew all allowances mentioned in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012, and statutes except the BDA, which had been withheld by the university.

The counsel contended that after approval of the statutes the PhD degree holders faculty members of the university had moved a request to the vice-chancellor through its registrar for the release of the BDA on April 24, 2019.

He said that a reminder was served to the vice-chancellor on August 16, 2020, through the registrar’s office but to date, the matter had not been taken seriously by the university’s management.

The lawyer claimed that the said allowance was approved by the Senate in its seventh meeting held on Feb 4, 2020, as part of the budget 2019-20.

He argued that the respondents were legally bound to implement the Act and statutes in letter and spirit and provide that allowance to the petitioners.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2022