Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice SM Attique Shah has expressed serious concern over the state of higher education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), saying the province’s education system is heading toward collapse as many high-scoring students are unable to afford university fees.
The remarks came during the hearing of a case involving more than 90 University of Peshawar (UoP) students who had received Higher Education Commission (HEC) scholarships.
The petitioners’ counsel, Khalid Rehman, told the court that the university had yet to release the scholarship amounts despite an earlier PHC decision in favor of the students.
UoP Assistant Registrar Riaz Ali Khan sought more time to resolve the matter, telling the court that the university was facing a deficit of more than Rs. 2 billion.
He said salaries for the previous month had been paid on the 16th, while funds for the current month’s salaries were not available.
The chief justice observed that the situation showed education had been pushed down the list of priorities, with hundreds of students unable to enroll despite securing high marks because semester fees were beyond their financial means.
He also expressed concern over the condition of UoP, saying it was unfortunate that one of the province’s oldest universities could not be properly managed.
The chief justice further raised concerns over university-owned land being rented out at nominal rates and noted that several departments were facing closure due to declining student interest.
He stressed the need for a permanent solution, saying governments would continue to face financial constraints and that university fees required serious attention to protect the future of young people.
The court directed the UoP administration to resolve the students’ scholarship issue, issued a notice to the HEC, and adjourned the hearing.
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