Punjab University Senate’s 357th meeting on Wednesday approved a Rs 12.6 billion budget for the fiscal year 2021-2022 and an annual report of Punjab University. The meeting was conducted online which was presided over by Governor Punjab/Chancellor Punjab University Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar.

PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmed, Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr. Saleem Mazhar, and more than 150 members of the Senate participated in the meeting. Addressing the meeting, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said that instructions had been given to the Finance Department to give exemption to the universities with reference to the 25 percent disparity allowance. He said that the universities who could afford to pay disparity allowance to their employees through their own sources would be autonomous to make decisions in this regard.

The governor lauded the efforts of Prof Niaz Ahmad for improvement in the international ranking of Punjab University. Briefing the Senate, Prof Niaz Ahmed highlighted the salient features of the budget and said that the number of scholarships given to the students was greater than the tuition fees the university took from them. He said that during COVI 19, the administration waived off fee of the students and for some other reasons, the income sources had shrunk.

However, he said, the university was coping with the budget deficit by controlling expenditures and adopting austerity measures. He said that due to the efforts of the Chancellor, the Government of Pakistan had promised to increase funding from 2.8 billion to Rs 3.3 billion. He said that on behalf of all the universities across Punjab, he was thankful to the governor for issuing orders to the Finance Department (FD) regarding exemption of universities from the earlier notification of FD with reference to disparity allowance, thus enabling universities to take their own decisions in this regard.

The Vice Chancellor requested the Governor to approve an honorarium for PU teachers as a token of acknowledgment of their good performance for the continuation of the process of education during COVID 19. The governor, at the request of the vice chancellor, gave approval to the proposal of awarding an honorarium to the teachers.

Presenting the annual report, the VC said that the university had improved its international ranking by 16 percent. He said that for the first time, PU’s 13 subjects had been ranked internationally and PU’s Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Department had been ranked among the top 100-150 institutions in the world by the QS. Prof Niaz Ahmed said that PU has also improved its Asian ranking and it stands on 178th position, making a considerable jump of 54 points in just two years.

He said that The Nature Publishing Group, a world-class publisher of high-impact scientific and medical information in print and online founded in 1869, has also ranked Punjab University No 1 in terms of research publications in the field of natural sciences amongst all Pakistani universities. The governor lauded PU VC Prof Niaz Ahmed and his team for achieving these milestones at the international level.