Association of Private Sector Universities of Pakistan (APSUP) on Thursday urged Education Minister, Shafqat Mahmood, not to push the Autumn Semester by few months.

The association chairman, Dr. Chaudhry Abdul Rehman, wrote a letter to Shafqat Mahmood, asking him to ensure a timely start of the Fall Semester.

“APSUP is an elected representative body of 85 private sector universities with 31 regional campuses having more than 40% students in the higher education sector across Pakistan,” the letter said.

It contended that the prolonged closure of education institutes with uncertainty about reopening timeframe has made things difficult for private sector universities. The government’s latest decision to delay admissions for Autumn Semester due to a delay in Intermediate and O/A Level exams will make the situation even worse.

“This decision will cause an irreparable loss to students in terms of disrupting their academic journey and resulting in further stress and unrest among them,” Rehman said.

“Further, at the outset of this development, the already troubled financial system of private sector universities is going to [collapse] which is hardly surviving on [its] own without any substantial relief from the government during a pandemic,” he added.

The APSUP chairman noted that if varsities implement the federal government’s decision, it will be impossible to meet recurring financial cost — faculty and staff salaries and operational expenses — because private HEIs depend solely on admissions for their financial sustainability.

“Therefore, it is requested that the admission process for the autumn semester 2021 may not be delayed and universities should be given permission to open admissions for Autumn Semester 2021 as per their academic schedule,” it added.