Public universities to face fund crisis in Q4 of fiscal 2014

The country's public universities are likely to plunge in severe financial crisis during the final quarter of the current financial year as the government has declined to make available any additional fund as requested by the University Grants Commission (UGC), sources at the regulatory body said.

"We submitted a proposal to the finance ministry to make available an additional fund of Tk 700 million to meet our resource gap. Unfortunately the ministry has responded negatively" said Director of Accounts at the UGC Muhammed Ibrahim Kabir.

He told the FE that the universities initially had submitted proposals seeking higher amount of funds from the UGC. But after necessary scrutiny of the proposals, the regulator of all universities had requested the government to make available at least Tk 700 million for the remaining part of the current fiscal.

"Definitely, the country's tertiary level institutions will experience financial crisis during the upcoming months," he noted.

Mr Kabir said the government has suggested the UGC to advise its affiliating institutions to meet their budgetary shortage from the other sources including the fund given for meeting the dearness allowance (DA).

He said however the ministry has given the positive signal on the dearness allowance for the university teachers and employees.

"Simultaneously, we had also submitted a proposal to the ministry concerned to make available a fund of Tk. 1.47 billion to meet the expenses on account of the approved dearness allowances for the public university teachers and employees" he added.

However, the UGC official expressed optimism about getting the required money as the government yet to finalise its revised budget for the current fiscal. "Usually the finance ministry finalises the country's revised budget during the months of March and April. So, still we can expect the fund" the director added.  

Ashraf Uddin, Director of Accounts of the Dhaka University said that they will not be able to pay salaries and other expenditures during the last quarter if the authorities fail to provide the additional amount requested for.

"The country's largest public university, the Dhaka University, had announced its budget for the current fiscal showing a deficit of Tk 250 million. The university also needs an additional amount of Tk 237 million for meeting expenses on the dearness allowance" he added.