PESHAWAR: Despite 13 years of governance by the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its hollow claims of an “educational emergency,” the province’s oldest and largest academic institution, the University of Peshawar, is facing an unprecedented financial crisis. The situation has severely impacted its employees, with salaries and pensions suspended, leaving the historic institution fighting for its survival.
The recent letter written by the Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) to the Chief Minister paints a bleak picture, suggesting that the claims of educational reforms remain limited to paperwork. After serving the province for 75 years, the university’s employees are in severe mental and financial distress due to the non-payment of salaries and pensions.
The gravity of the situation is evident from the non-payment of half of the salaries for March and the withholding of pensions worth Rs 162 million, indicating a deep administrative crisis after more than a decade of the current government’s tenure.
Critics point to the government’s policy of reducing grants to universities and pushing these institutions towards financial autonomy, a strategy that has effectively abandoned them and forced teachers onto the streets in protest. The situation has highlighted a conflict in the government’s priorities, with accusations that billions of rupees are being spent on political propaganda while the treasury is empty for an institution responsible for shaping future generations.
In response to the crisis, PUTA has demanded an immediate grant of Rs 4 billion from the Chief Minister to address the emergency and the immediate restoration of the pension fund. Observers note that if the province’s largest university is on the verge of bankruptcy after thirteen years of power, it reflects a significant degradation of the educational system.
