Peshawar University has fallen into a severe financial crisis, as the university administration has run out of funds to pay salaries and pensions by July.
According to sources, the university could not issue full salaries to employees last month, and only 50 percent of salaries were paid. In addition to this, there are no financial resources for payments in terms of salaries and pensions for the coming months.
Sources say that the remaining 50 percent of salaries for March, which are said to be worth about Rs 131 million, have not yet been paid, while about Rs 162 million in terms of pensions are also pending.
In view of this serious situation, the Peshawar University Teachers Association has once again started preparing for a protest and strike.
The teachers’ organization has sent an emergency letter to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Chancellor of the university, demanding immediate financial assistance.
The letter states that teachers, employees, and retired pensioners are facing severe difficulties due to the financial crisis, while paying household expenses, children’s education, medicines, and utility bills has also become difficult.
The teachers’ organization has warned that if immediate steps are not taken, the crisis could become more serious. They have demanded that the outstanding salaries of March be released immediately, pending pensions, be paid, and a permanent system be developed for the timely payment of salaries and pensions.
Along with this, it has been demanded that special financial assistance of at least Rs 4 billion be provided in the upcoming budget and a pension endowment fund of at least Rs 5 billion be established for retired employees.
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