PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has urged the federal government not to stop funding public sector universities in the next fiscal, warning that such a move will deal a serious blow to the efforts to promote higher education in the province.

In a letter, the governor urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to direct the finance division to increase recurring grants for government universities and other higher education institutions in the province by 45 per cent and their developmental grants by 15 per cent in 2024–25.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has already voiced concern about the federal government’s decision to stop funding public sector universities across the country in the next financial year.

During a provincial assembly session chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, higher education minister Meena Khan Afridi urged the federal government to reconsider its decision in “the larger interest of the students and future of the country.” “Funding denial can potentially grind higher education to a halt,” he warned.

Warns such a move will cost higher education sector dearly

In the letter to the prime minister, the governor, who is also the chancellor of public sector universities in the province, pointed out that the province’s all 34 public sector universities and higher education institutions primarily relied on grants from federal and provincial governments, besides their own revenue sources.

He added that unfortunately, the universities struggled to increase their revenue due to the delicate law and order situation, incidents of terrorism, and backwardness in the province, so their dependence on government grants had grown.

“Disturbingly, the Finance Division, vide a letter dated May 24th, 2024, has not allocated funds to the public sector universities and HEls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the upcoming financial year 2024–25. Such a decision would deal a severe blow to the ongoing efforts to promote higher education in KP,” he insisted.

Mr Kundi argued that without recurring grants from the federal government, those universities and higher education institutions will struggle to perform essential day-to-day operations, including payment of salaries, utilities, and maintenance of facilities.

He added that the absence of development grants would hinder crucial activities like the putting up of new buildings, the procurement of modern lab equipment, and the start of new academic programmes and research projects.

The governor said the centre’s funding would not only address the issue of “backwardness” in the region through education but also contribute to the efforts for controlling militancy and maintaining law and order.

He said the prime minister’s support would contribute to the growth and progress of higher education in the province.

In the letter, Mr Kundi also lauded the prime minister for his efforts to “revitalise the economy through effective planning and execution.”

“Under your [prime minister’s] leadership, these initiatives promise to steer our nation toward prosperity,” he said.

Sources in the provincial higher education department told Dawn that the federal government provided Rs10 billion to the public sector universities in the country annually through the Higher Education Commission.

They said the universities had pressed the federal government to increase their funding to Rs12.5 billion to help them manage their affairs effectively.

The sources said that if the federal government didn’t withdraw its decision, then the universities wouldn’t be able to continue functioning as the cash-starved provincial government couldn’t provide such a huge fund to them from its own resources.

They also warned that the denial of funds to universities would add to the woes of the provincial government, which was already struggling to pay salaries and pensions.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2024