Islamabad: Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) in its General Body Meeting (GBM) held at Allama Iqbal Open University elected new office-bearers for the next term.
Academic Staff Associations from universities across Pakistan participated in the meeting reflecting strong national representation and unity among faculty members. During the session, central and provincial chapters presented their annual performance reports, highlighting key achievements, challenges and ongoing efforts for faculty welfare and higher education development.
The newly elected central leadership includes Prof Akhtiar Ghumro (Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur) as president; Dr Abdus Samad Khan (Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan) as vice president; Prof Muhammad Muddassar (COMSATS University, Islamabad) as general secretary and Dr Muhammad Uzair (University of Peshawar) as information secretary.
The newly elected leadership expressed strong commitment to advocating for faculty rights and addressing critical challenges faced by higher education institutions across Pakistan. A major concern raised during the meeting was the stagnant—and in real terms, shrinking—budget allocation for higher education. The forum urged the government to significantly increase the recurring budget to ensure sustainability and progress in the sector.
The salaries, increments, allowances and pensions are paid from the recurring grant which remains frozen at 2018 level despite many raises announced by the governments in these account-heads in the last eight years.
The General Body with unanimous support emphasised for the urgent implementation of the BPS promotion policy. Furthermore, participants strongly demanded the restoration of the tax rebate for faculty members withdrawn last year adversely affecting their financial well-being.
Another key issue discussed was the stagnation of Tenure Track System (TTS) salaries since 2021. FAPUASA called for a rational and immediate revision of TTS salary structures to reflect current economic realities.
The meeting concluded with a unanimous resolution reaffirming FAPUASA’s commitment to continue its struggle for the protection of faculty rights and the strengthening of higher education in Pakistan.
