The 211th meeting of the Syndicate of the University of Sindh, Jamshoro was held in the VC office under the chair of Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Fateh Muhammad Marri here on Wednesday. The meeting approved the previous year’s budget as well as the minutes of the 210th Syndicate meeting.

The Syndicate also endorsed various measures taken by the Vice-Chancellor including the appointment of chairpersons in different departments. In addition, the minutes of the 45th meeting of the Academic Council were also approved.

The Syndicate granted conditional permission to two law colleges to continue operations and approved the launch of various degree programmes and affiliations to three colleges. Detailed presentations were also made on the budget, income and expenditures for the previous financial year 2024–25 and the ongoing financial year 2025–26.

Director Finance Zeeshan Ahmed Memon briefed the Syndicate members, saying that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Islamabad provided a grant of Rs1, 823.991 million for the financial year 2024–25, while a reduced grant of Rs1, 769.786 million has been allocated for the ongoing financial year 2025–26.

He added that the Sindh government increased its grant from Rs2, 964 million last year to Rs3, 408.600 million this year, for which he expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister Sindh, the Chairman provincial HEC and other concerned authorities.

He noted that no other university in Pakistan had received such a substantial increase in funding from a provincial government as the University of Sindh had from the Sindh government.

The Director Finance further informed that the university generated Rs3, 804.791 million from its own resources last year, which declined to Rs3, 279.891 million in the current year due to the separation of the Mirpurkhas Campus as an independent university and other related things.

According to the briefing, total income and grants amounted to Rs8, 592.782 million in the previous financial year, while the budget outlay for the ongoing year has been estimated at Rs8, 458.277 million.

For the current financial year, Rs4, 452.900 million has been allocated for salaries, while Rs2, 354.155 million has been earmarked for pensions and retirement benefits of employees. An additional Rs2, 119.318 million has been set aside for other operational expenditures.

Combining the university’s own income with federal and provincial grants, the total estimated budget stands at Rs8, 926.373 million. The Director Finance stated that the overall budget deficit for the current financial year was projected at Rs468.096 million, compared to Rs244.826 million in the previous year—an increase of Rs271.928 million in shortfall.

He emphasized the need for support from the Sindh government to conduct actuarial study for the establishment of a Pension Endowment Fund, which would help reduce the deficit. He added that the launch of a solarization project would save approximately Rs100 million, further easing the financial shortfall.

The DF termed it “good-tiding” that the university’s total investments have increased from Rs 286 million to Rs 972 million. Similarly, pension-related investments have risen from Rs 118 million to Rs 314 million. He said the university had a plan to enhance revenue by making effective use of its land resources, in order to curb the annual dropout of students who leave due to an inability to pay fees.

“The University of Sindh has introduced a new slogan: No student should leave the university due to lack of fees,” he said and said that to achieve this objective, the Students’ Financial Aid Office had been further strengthened.

He stressed that academic departments must not remain mere cost centers but should be transformed into revenue-generating units so that each department could meet its own expenditures.

During the meeting, members raised numerous financial queries, which were satisfactorily addressed by the Director Finance Zeeshan Ahmed Memon. He informed the Syndicate that varsity’s accounts had been audited by chartered accountants for the first time since its inception in 1947.

He further disclosed that Rs52 million was saved under the head of income tax after the university successfully won a case at the federal tribunal, where the tax authorities had unjustifiably imposed the amount on the Alma Mater.