HEC’s governing body, Commission, has strongly deplored the unprecedented and massive cut in the budget for the higher education sector, emphasizing that this will destroy all the efforts made in the last two decades.
The Commission, in its meeting held online on Friday, unanimously demanded the reversal of the decision by the government and provision of due share to the higher education sector in the upcoming budget and warned that this cut will lead to dire consequences, including the closing of institutions, winding up of university programs, firing of faculty members, termination of research projects and halting of international higher education agreements.
The Ministry of Finance has communicated IBC (Indicative Budget Ceilings) of only Rs. 30 billion for higher education’s recurring grant against the rationalized demand of Rs. 104.983 billion. The allocation is 45 percent less even than the current year’s allocation (FY 2021-22), which was Rs. 66.25 billion.
