PESHAWAR – Universities in Pakistan stand at a breaking point. Once beacons of knowledge and progress, they now teeter on the brink of collapse, strangled by financial neglect, misplaced priorities, and reckless policy experiments.
The result?
A higher education system gasping for survival, while students and faculty bear the brunt of an unfolding disaster.
Five years ago, these universities operated on an annual budget of 80 billion rupees. Then came a political shift, and that what sbudget was hacked in half. A token increase later brought it to 64 billion rupees (approximately 228.6 million US dollars), but by then, inflation had already surged beyond 100 percent, shattering the rupee’s value and sending operational costs soaring.
Universities were left with impossible choices: pay salaries, maintain infrastructure, or invest in research. They couldn’t do it all.
The pandemic dealt another crushing blow. For two years, universities saw their revenue streams dry up, yet unlike other sectors that received economic relief, education was abandoned. Even students, struggling to attend online classes, were left without support for internet access or digital devices. The message from the state was unmistakable: education was not a priority.
Faced with financial strangulation, universities have resorted to the only option left—tuition hikes. But in a country where inflation is already bleeding households dry, passing the burden onto students is not a solution; it is a death sentence for accessibility. Higher education is not a privilege; it is a fundamental right. And if the government truly believes in progress, it must act like it.
Cosmetic reforms won’t save higher education. A bold, strategic overhaul is imperative. Reckless policy experiments must end. Academic leaders—not bureaucrats—should dictate the future of education. Salary and pension increments must be factored into national budgets. A dedicated pension endowment fund should be established to prevent universities from financial freefall. And the government must halt its reckless spree of launching new universities while older, established institutions wither in neglect.
There is a simple, sustainable way out. A national education fund could be created with minimal contributions from government employees—100 rupees from grades 1-16, 200 rupees from grades 17-20, and a symbolic five rupees from grades 21 and above. If implemented for just two years, this initiative could stabilize universities and ensure that no student is priced out of an education.
Policymakers love to claim that education is the key to national progress. Yet their actions tell a different story. Building universities without ensuring their sustainability is not expansion—it is recklessness. Three decades ago, the University of Peshawar alone met the higher education needs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Today, despite the proliferation of institutions, financial mismanagement has reduced universities to empty shells struggling to stay afloat. The University of Peshawar, once a symbol of academic excellence, now fights just to pay pensions and keep its doors open.
If the government continues to look away, the collapse of higher education will no longer be a distant fear—it will be an irreversible reality. And when that day comes, the cost won’t just be measured in rupees. It will be counted in lost generations, squandered potential, and a nation that watched its future slip through its fingers.
