HEC Budget Slashed in Half

According to some official reports, the govt would allocate a mere Rs30 billion (last year: 66.25 billion) to the education commission.

HEC director said that the proposal for the grant of over Rs100 billion was shared with the govt in light of its growing needs.

Previous Budgets

The previous budget (66.25b) could only meet 28 per cent of needs of the higher education and the rest of the funding was managed by the commission itself in addition to the funds provided by the provincial governments.

Another grant of Rs15 billion announced by the government has also not been provided to the HEC despite multiple reminders.

Also Read: More than 90 percent students across Pakistan are weak in maths and science: HEC funded study

The university grants range since 2016 are “0% to 0.14% of the country’s GDP. A cut in this would be a big loss.

The budget currently being planned for the financial year 2022-23 would not be enough to meet the needs of the commission and, if not reviewed, it would adversely impact the youth along with an increase in unemployment.

Government’s Response

Minister for Planning & Development Ahsan Iqbal has said that despite the worst economic crisis in the country, the govt would not reduce the budget of the HEC.

The minister said that the govt was allocating more funds than what the HEC demanded.

Also Read: Alert for the students, HEC warns about 147 fake/illegal institutions across Pakistan