Sindh Government Considers Raising University Professors' Retirement Age to 65

What happened

Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Asif Hyder Shah chaired a meeting with the Vice Chancellors of 32 public sector universities to review institutional performance and address various challenges [1, 2]. During this meeting, the provincial government announced it is considering increasing the retirement age for university professors from 60 to 65 years [1, 2]. A summary regarding this proposal will be sent to the provincial Cabinet for consideration [1, 2].

The meeting addressed several issues facing higher education institutions in Sindh, including:

• Financial and administrative challenges: The government provides a grant-in-aid of Rs44,460 million to universities [1, 2]. However, pension liabilities and high electricity bills consume a significant portion of these funds [1, 2].
• Faculty retention: Vice Chancellors reported difficulties in retaining qualified teachers because private universities offer higher salaries to experienced faculty [1, 2].
• Campus expansion: The Chief Secretary stated that universities must conduct research and feasibility assessments before establishing new campuses to ensure academic viability and sufficient student enrolment [1].
• Infrastructure and energy: To reduce electricity costs, a solarisation programme for public sector universities will be developed [1, 2].
• Regulatory delays: There are reported delays in obtaining approvals from the Pakistan Nursing Council and the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for certain academic programmes [1].

The Chairman of the Sindh Higher Education Commission (SHEC) noted that Rs50 million will be provided this year for international conferences at universities [1].

Who is affected

• University Professors: The proposed change would increase their retirement age from 60 to 65 years [1, 2].
• Public Sector Universities: 32 universities in Sindh were represented in the meeting to discuss financial, academic, and infrastructure issues [1, 2].
• Faculty and Staff: The Chief Secretary stressed the need to discourage unnecessary recruitment, specifically in non-faculty positions, to manage the financial burden [1, 2].
• Students: Issues discussed included student welfare, scholarships, transport, accommodation, and campus security and drug prevention [1, 2].