Is KP Shutting Down More Than 20 Universities?

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is planning to shut down or merge several universities due to their worsening financial issues, reported a national daily, citing sources.

According to sources in the Higher Education Department, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has 34 universities, but the government is considering closing over 20 due to ongoing financial challenges.

They say that due to the financial crisis, a high-level meeting has decided to either shut down or merge some universities to cut costs. The sources added that the government has set up a task force to assess and report on the financial crises affecting various universities.

The task force on universities’ financial issues is chaired by Minister for Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi, with KMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Ziaul Haq serving as the convener.

The task force will review the state of higher education in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, examining the quality of universities, financial sustainability, industry-academia linkage, professional education resource utilization, and financial issues.

However, Minister for Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi has denied any plans to close or merge universities, calling such claims unfounded.

He acknowledged that universities are struggling financially but reassured that the provincial government is dedicated to improving the education sector and ensuring universities become financially self-sufficient. He added that shutting down universities is not a consideration.