Universities to face funding cut, says Sindh HEC chief
KARACHI: “There will be cuts in the funding being provided to universities owing to country’s poor financial position. Many universities will not be able to sustain themselves because they have no other financial resources and they rely completely on the government [to run their institutions].”
This was stated by Dr Asim Hussain, the chairman of Higher Education Commission, Sindh, at a ceremony held at the Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) on Thursday.
The event was held to honour Sindh Medical College alumni who have received prestigious awards from the government.
Mr Hussain advised universities to develop their own sources of income as “many educational institutions have done across the world”.
“The Sindh HEC still faces a state of uncertainty as funding remains with the federal government. The Sindh government and the provincial HEC are struggling to find [a] way,” he said, while speaking about the challenges being faced by the government and the commission.
He also underscored the need for setting up academic standards and said that this should be the priority of every university. The commission realised the importance of this goal and was trying to make academic people part of the HEC.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor of JSMU Prof S.M. Tariq Rafi appreciated contribution of the alumni to the service of the country and said that the event was held to inspire the current students to achieve distinction in their fields as their seniors had done. He also presented a progress report of the university.
Pro vice chancellor Lubna Ansari Baig, an alumna herself, presented a detailed citation of the services by the guests.
A total of seven SMC alumni and two guests were awarded shields to acknowledge their recognition at the highest government level.
These included Dr Altaf Hussain Hashmi (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Dr Shahid Ahmed Sami (Sitara-i-Imtiaz), Dr Majida Bashir Ahmed (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), Dr Saeed Akhtar (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), Dr Javed Suleman (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), retired colonel Dr Muhammad Khalid Rafi (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, military), retired colonel Dr Sharafuddin (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz), Dr Rukhsana Wamiq Zuberi (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz) and Dr Abdul Bari Khan (Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz).
Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2019