Financial crisis strikes universities.

University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Spokesman Prof Dr Muhammad Jalal Arif said that due to Covid, floods and the ongoing economic crunch in the country, Higher Education Commission financial support is declining for all universities, including UAF. With this in mind, the generation of resources at the local level has become essential.

The university utility bill expenditure, which was standing at Rs156 million a decade ago, has increased to Rs362 million in 2021. However, in the 2021-22 financial year, the utility bill budget jumped by 100 percent and crossed Rs700 million, due to increasing costs at the national level.

Owing to severe financial crisis, the University Syndicate decided on a 25 percent increase in fees in September 2022, due to utility bills and other rising expenditures. Tuition fees were last increased in 2019.

The increase in fees was postponed for a semester due to the floods, only now being implemented to run financial...