A national news source reports that Punjab University (PU) administration has transferred Rs. 30 million in funding for research to the university’s Transport Wing for the purpose of covering student bus expenditures.
The decision has drawn criticism from PU faculty members who believe that in order to preserve the integrity of research projects, funds for research should solely be utilized for academic purposes.
According to reports, the funds were previously authorized by PU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Dr. Khalid Mahmood from the university’s budget under the heading “Lumpsum Provision for Research-Improvement of Education,” before they were placed on the agenda for formal approval at the PU Syndicate meeting on April 29.
Despite opposition from some Syndicate members, including Dr. Asghar Iqbal and Dr. Muhammad Islam, the re-appropriation was approved during the meeting. Dr. Islam voiced his disagreement.
Because the funds were intended for research and because staff members were already having trouble paying for travel grants and other costs associated with that research due to slack research funding and increasing inflation, the choice to reroute the funds has drawn criticism.
Additionally, reports reveal that the university’s research funds are largely underutilized as a result of the complicated processes at the university, which discourages the culture of research.
