Karachi: Due to a large portion of the annual non-development grant of government universities being spent on pension payments for employees, work has now begun at the federal level on changing the service structure of professors. It is possible that new service structures with significant changes will soon be handed over to government universities by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). In this regard, a committee comprising officers from the HEC and some vice chancellors of government universities is finalizing the new service structure based on new proposals.
According to the recommendations of the committee, lecturer regular positions in government universities across the country are being phased out initially, while under the new service structure, professors will be required to contribute to their pension fund from their monthly allowances, similar to the Provident Fund. These recommendations are being presented to the HEC for approval in consultation with the Ministry of Finance.
It is important to note that most universities in Sindh and across the country do not have established pension funds, and these universities primarily cover pension payments for their employees from the non-development grants received from the HEC. However, NED University in Sindh stands out as an exception, where the pension fund is close to 3 billion and pension payments are made separately from the non-development grant.
Furthermore, the committee under the leadership of Dr. Anwar ul Hasan Gilani, former Vice Chancellor of HEC and consultant from Islamabad, has already reached the conclusion that in the future, professors will also contribute to the pension fund through their salaries, and this contribution is being termed as the contributory pension fund. Additionally, to reduce the financial burden, teaching assistant professor positions will now start instead of lecturer posts, and junior positions like lecturer will be contractual based on market conditions, with fixed pay being offered keeping in view the market situation.
It is clear that HEC, despite not receiving an increase in the annual budget for government universities in the past 6 years, has seen a 135% increase only in salaries during this period. HEC retains the position that provincial universities, including those in Sindh, are not being deprived of grant funding, and they have requested 125 billion from the finance division for the annual budget of 2024/25. However, the final amount of grant funds to be approved in the budget has not been disclosed yet.
HEC emphasizes that universities need to not only establish their own funds, but also carefully consider other allowances given along with salaries. As the current financial situation of the country does not allow for any increase in grants, universities must review their stance on not only establishing their funds but also on other allowances given to employees.