Rs2 billion University liabilities, unpaid pensions and 500 questionable appointments

The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology is facing a deepening financial and administrative crisis, with the university

Karachi / Islamabad: The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology is facing a deepening financial and administrative crisis, with the university admitting that about 500 non-teaching employees were recruited without advertisements, while unpaid pensions, rising salary costs and weak governing bodies continue to trouble the institution.

The Senate Standing Committee on Education ordered a detailed review of the university’s recruitment, finances and administration and formed a subcommittee with participation from the Higher Education Commission. The committee also said further funding should be linked to fixing administrative problems.

The committee was told that the university’s student enrolment has fallen for three straight years. Student numbers dropped from 17,058 in 2024 to 2025 to 16,654 in 2025 to 2026 and then to 16,259 in 2026 to 2027.

Senator Khalida Ateeb questioned whether the decline was connected to falling academic standards or problems within the university. Vice Chancellor Zabta Shinwari said part of the decline reflected a wider national fall in admissions to basic science subjects, including botany, zoology, geography and environmental sciences, which he said had dropped by about 12 percent over two years.

The university’s financial condition also came under serious scrutiny. The Vice Chancellor said government funding had increased by about 10 percent, but salary spending had risen by around 20 percent. He said the university had received almost no major increase in its grant for about a decade while salary costs had doubled.

He said the institution was already carrying major financial obligations inherited after Federal Urdu College was given university status in 2002. Money needed for running the university was increasingly being used for salaries and pensions, leaving less for teaching and administration.

The university’s outstanding liabilities had reached around Rs2 billion two years ago, according to the Vice Chancellor. A bailout package for three federal universities was later approved, but Federal Urdu University was not included.

The Education Ministry told the committee that the university had claimed some employees were being paid by the federal government before the institution became a university in 2002. However, the university did not provide documents needed to prove the claim, and was therefore not eligible for the bailout funds.

The recruitment system became one of the most serious issues before the committee. Senator Sarmad Ali questioned the rising salary bill and allegations that some people had been hired without proper rules.

The Vice Chancellor acknowledged that some appointments were unnecessary. He also confirmed that around 500 non-teaching employees had been recruited without advertisements and said a committee involving the Higher Education Commission and the Education Ministry had been formed to examine the issue, although it had not yet met.

Committee Chairperson Senator Bushra Anjum Butt ordered the university to submit complete recruitment records at the next meeting, including the names of appointees, advertisements and other relevant documents.

The university’s governing system also came under pressure. Members questioned the functioning of the Senate and Syndicate and whether they were meeting regularly and legally.

The Vice Chancellor said the university Senate has 17 members and needs at least nine members for a quorum. It is supposed to meet twice a year, but he said its last meeting had been held about a year earlier and was the first meeting in nearly a decade.

Questions were also raised over a previous Syndicate meeting. The committee ruled that decisions taken at the earlier meeting had no legal validity.

An official from Anjuman e Taraqqi e Urdu alleged that some decisions were wrongly recorded in Senate minutes and that written objections by members had not been included or corrected.

The committee also heard that the university has 631 sanctioned teaching positions but only slightly more than 200 teachers are working, raising further questions about staffing and the use of approved posts.

A faculty member also questioned why records linked to Selection Board meetings had not been provided to the Higher Education Commission or the Education Ministry.

The pension crisis added another layer to the problems. The committee was told that employees and teachers who retired after 2017 had still not received their outstanding payments.

Dr Tauseef Ahmed said information obtained through the Information Commission showed the university had around Rs660 million in funds. He said the Federal Ombudsman had ruled in favour of retired employees and directed that pensions be paid from those funds.

According to Ahmed, the university’s Syndicate rejected that decision, saying the money belonged to its Islamabad campus.

The committee also heard allegations about the university leadership and the composition of its governing bodies, including claims that people who were not eligible members had been counted in meetings where there were questions over the required quorum.

University officials have maintained that the financial problems are linked in part to long-standing funding pressures, rising salary costs and obligations inherited from the college era. The Vice Chancellor also said the university had already formed a committee involving the Higher Education Commission and Education Ministry to examine questionable appointments. The university is now required to provide detailed recruitment records and other documents to the Senate committee for review.

The Senate committee has decided to closely monitor the university through its new subcommittee and examine its recruitment, governance, financial management, salaries and pension liabilities before further decisions on funding are made.