MUZAFFARABAD: The University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (UAJK) is facing an unprecedented financial crisis, with its budget for the current fiscal year showing a deficit of more than Rs1.3 billion — a shortfall the institution says it cannot manage without urgent government support.
Established in Muzaffarabad in 1980 as the region’s first public sector institution of higher learning, UAJK later opened three constituent colleges in Mirpur, Rawalakot and Kotli, which were subsequently upgraded into independent universities. While the assets of the parent university were distributed among the new institutions, UAJK retained pension and other long-term liabilities, significantly increasing its financial burden.
Rising pension obligations, inflation and stagnant government grants have since widened the deficit, placing the University’s financial sustainability under severe strain.
“The financial position of our institution has become critically unsustainable,” UAJK spokesperson Dr Mubashar Naqvi told Dawn on Friday. He said projected income for FY2025–26 fell far short of expenditure, particularly employee-related costs.
“Our pension bill alone has reached Rs590 million this year, and it will continue to rise as the number of pensioners increases,” he said, adding that grants from the Higher Education Commission and the AJK government had remained unchanged for years.
Dr Naqvi said that despite stringent cuts in non-salary spending, the University’s mandatory obligations — including salaries, pensions, utility bills and essential academic operations — exceeded available resources by more than Rs1.3bn.
“We have already exhausted all internal cost-saving options. There is no further room for cuts,” he said.
To stabilise the institution, he said the University had sought two one-time government interventions: Rs2bn for an Endowment Fund and another Rs2bn for a dedicated Pension Fund. The funds, he said, would be invested, with only a portion of the annual returns utilised, reducing long-term dependence on recurring grants.
When contacted, Vice Chancellor Prof Nasir Jamal Khattak confirmed to Dawn that he had sought immediate government intervention to protect an institution that had been pivotal in higher education in the region for over four decades.
“On our part, wehave frozen hiring and promotions, solarised the administration block, merged low-enrolment departments and shifted towards market-driven academic programmes,” he said. “The University is operating at the bare minimum, yet the deficit continues to widen because our responsibilities increase every year while our income does not.”
He described the proposed funds as the only sustainable path forward. “This is not a recurring request; it is a structural solution,” he said, adding that even with the establishment of the two funds, the University would require around Rs1bn annually for the next few years to bridge the gap between costs and income.
“This annual requirement will gradually decline as the Endowment and Pension Funds grow,” he said. “The government has an opportunity to permanently fix the University’s finances.”
Dr Naqvi said the crisis reflected challenges faced by many public universities, particularly those operating under old defined-benefit pension systems. He noted that provincial governments in Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan had stepped in to support their universities.
“We expect similar support for UAJK, the largest and only comprehensive public-sector university serving the people of the state,” he said, adding that the University remained in active engagement with the government.
“UAJK is committed to maintaining academic and research standards, but its financial survival now hinges on timely government intervention,” Dr Naqvi said.
Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2025
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