LAHORE: The first meeting of the newly elected Executive Council of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) for the session 2024-25 was held online. President Dr. Amjad Abbas Magsi presided over the meeting, while General Secretary Dr. Muhammad Uzair moderated the proceedings.
The Council strongly condemned Israel's barbarism against innocent Palestinians and expressed deep sorrow and grief over the sad demise of the Iranian President and Foreign Minister in a helicopter crash.
The Executive Council voiced deep concern over the precarious financial situation facing public sector universities nationwide, emphasizing the urgent need for a substantial increase in both federal and provincial budgets and grant-in-aid for universities.
The Council unanimously demanded that the federal government allocate a minimum of 500 billion rupees in the upcoming federal budget to ensure continuous funding for public sector universities through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Islamabad. A joint statement from all members insisted that the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, and Federal Minister for Higher Education prioritize this allocation before finalizing the federal budget.
Furthermore, the Executive Council urged provincial governments to allocate at least 50 billion rupees each in their budgets for universities' recurrent expenses. It was decided that FAPUASA leadership would engage federal and provincial ministers, as well as other government officials, personally and through official correspondence to advocate for budget allocations.
Additionally, the Council called upon the provincial governments of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to promptly disburse grant-in-aid to universities experiencing prolonged salary payment delays and urged the expeditious establishment of provincial HECs, akin to other provinces.
The Council resolved to initiate a token demonstration across universities nationwide, which will persist until the next council meeting scheduled for May 29, 2024.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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