The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) has written an open letter to the President of Pakistan, the Prime Minister, the Chairman of the Senate, the Speaker of the National Assembly and the federal ministers for education and finance urging immediate action to tackle long-standing higher education challenges facing public universities.
In the letter, FAPUASA Federal Chapter President Prof. Dr. Aamir Ali warned that persistent financial and administrative shortfalls are undermining academic excellence, research productivity and faculty retention, and he called for urgent intervention from all concerned stakeholders.
A central demand is a substantial rise in the Higher Education Commission budget, which has remained at Rs. 65 billion since 2017-18 despite a marked increase in the number of public sector universities. The federation says both recurring and development allocations must be increased to support universities, research, scholarships, laboratories and essential academic infrastructure.
FAPUASA has also pressed for the immediate approval and notification of the long-awaited salary revision for faculty serving under the Tenure Track System as per the agreed formula, and urged provision of comprehensive death benefits and social protection measures to secure the families of TTS faculty members.
The organisation demanded restoration of the tax rebate for university teachers and researchers, noting that the rebate was reduced from 75 percent to 40 percent in 2013, cut further to 25 percent in 2019 and ultimately abolished in 2025, removing an important recognition of academic contribution to national development.
On career progression, FAPUASA called for the implementation of the Higher Education Commission’s 2022 BPS promotion policy, which was agreed following minor amendments but remains unimplemented across many universities, creating uncertainty for BPS faculty members.
The federation stressed that sustained investment in higher education and academic human resources is indispensable for Pakistan’s scientific progress, economic resilience and technological advancement, and warned that prolonged financial constraints, rising inflation, increased taxation and policy delays have generated widespread uncertainty and frustration among university teachers and researchers.
