Worsening financial crisis in universities
Owing to the worsened financial crisis in all public universities in Balochistan, The employees including professors and other teaching staff are on roads for almost third consecutive months protesting and demanding their basic right of due salaries that have not been paid to them. This reflects how serious is the issue when it comes to the prioritization of education where billions of rupees are spent on other non-significant matter but the architects of the future are left in a state of utter dejection. There have often been productive discussions about the natural resources in Baluchistan. Regrettably, there is a lack of instructive debate on addressing and ending the province’s deprivation and marginalization
The provincial government of Baluchistan presented a budget of 700 billion rupees for the year 2022-23, out of which only 2.50 billion rupees were allocated as grants and aid to the 11 universities in the province while the federal budget for the year 2022 was 10 thousand billion rupees, out of which only 65 billion rupees were allocated for the recurring budget of all the universities in the country. This amount is inadequate for higher education, especially in the field of science, technology, research and development.
In the holy month of Ramazan, these financial woes are even more challenging as university employees try to observe their religious duties while struggling to make ends meet. The lack of timely payment has caused significant stress and anxiety among the employees, students and even in their parents, making it challenging for them to focus on their work and carry out their duties efficiently. The non-payment of salaries to universities employees and that too during the holy month of Ramazan is a dire situation that has affected the lives of many individuals. University employees, like any other working class, have a right to timely payment of their salaries. The non-payment of salaries has led to numerous financial woes for these employees, including difficulties in paying bills, buying food, and fulfilling other necessary expenses.
It is the responsibility of the relevant authorities to ensure that university employees are paid on time and are not left struggling in the holy month of Ramazan. This situation calls for urgent action to address the issue and ensure that the affected employees receive their salaries as soon as possible. It is imperative that both the Federal and Provincial Governments increase the recurring and development budget for universities by at least two-fold. The provincial government ought to raise the Grants-in-Aid for all public sector universities in Baluchistan to at least Rs.10 billion.
