ISLAMABAD: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) and All Government Employees Grand Alliance (AGEGA) on Monday strongly condemned the federal government`s proposal to abolish the 25pc tax rebate for teachers and researchers, calling it `a deliberate and destructive blow to Pakistan`s higher education and research system`.

Addressing a joint press conference at the National Press Club, FAPUASA President Prof Dr Mazhar Iqbal, Chief Coordinator AGEGA Rahman Ali Bajwa, FAPUASA`s central Information Secretary Dr Mohammad Jadoon Khan and Islamabad Chapter`s President Dr Iqbal Jatoi stated that they wanted continuation of 25pc tax rebate and increase in higher education funding.

They criticised the government for taking back the only incentive available toteachersandresearchers as government had decided to end this tax rebate fromJuly 1.

They emphasised that this brutal act of government would have longlasting negative impact on higher education sector.

The participants of the press conference said in his recent statement, the FBR chairman claimed that the IMF had objected to the rebate.

However, they said no such objection was raised when FBR purchased luxury vehicles worth billions of rupees or when parliamentarians raised their ownsalariesbyupto600pc.

The government`s priorities reflect selective austerity, rewarding the elite, while penalising the academic backbone of the country, they said.

The participants of the press conference said tax rebate was originally introduced by the Musharaf government in 2006 at 75pc, aimed at promoting research and academic retention.

It was reduced to 40pc by the PML-N government in 2013, and now the PML-N government is abolishing it completely, they said.

`The rebate was never a luxury; it was a lifeline foruniversity faculty and researchers who routinely pay out of pocket for journal publication fees, chemicals, fieldwork, and academic travel.

`Its abolition will demoralise scholars, reduce research productivity, and accelerate brain drain, weakening Pakistan`s academic future,` Dr Mazhar Iqbal said.

The office-bearers said despite the federal budget growing from Rs5.9 trillion in 2018 to Rs17.5 trillion in 2025, a196pcincrease,the recurring grant for higher education has almost remained frozen at just Rs65 billion.

Meanwhile, the number of public universities has grown from 126 to 160, and operating costs, salaries, pensions and utilities, have skyrocketed, they said.

According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan, the country is spending only 0.8pc of its GDP on education overall, and a mere 0.37pc on higher education in the current fiscalyear.

This is well below the Unesco-recommended 4-6pc, and far behind regional peers like Indiaand Bangladesh.

Shockingly, both PML-N and PPP had committed in their election manifestos to increase education spending to 4pc of the GDP, but havefanedtohonourthose promises while in power, the press conference participants added.

Dr Mazhar and Rahman Bajwa and others demanded immediate and permanent restoration of the 25pc tax rebate, and called on the government to increase the recurring budget for higher education to at least Rs200 billion to reflect inflation, institutional growth and national development goals.

They said if Pakistan truly aspired to become a knowledge-based economy, it must stop undermining its scholars and researchers, adding that a nation that refuses to invest in its intellectual capital cannot compete in the modern world.

They warned that if the government failed to fulfill demands of the teaching community, FAPUASA and AGEGA will call for a nationwide protest that will lead to the closure of universities all over Pakistan.