Financial crisis threatens collapse of universities

Middle East Monitor 28 August 2015

Trade unionists have warned of a possible collapse of Palestinian universities against the backdrop of a financial crisis that could cause a large deficit in the higher education budget and lead to its eventual suspension, reports Middle East Monitor.

The president of the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees, Dr Amjad Barham, said that “universities can no longer meet [their] financial commitments toward their workers”, pointing out that the money owed to employees and considered now as debt is increasing every day, “without a glimmer of hope that the financial situation will improve and [the debt] will be settled”.

In a press statement, a copy of which was received by Quds Press on 19 August, Barham pointed out that “the financial crisis will lead to universities becoming unable to allocate budgets for development, which will thereby reduce their ability to maintain the required high standard of education”. He noted that the most important cause of this crisis is that in the past five years the government has not shown commitment to paying universities’ dues as previously approved in the budget, adding that the funds transferred to universities in this period does not exceed 10% of approved allocations.
Full report on the Middle East Monitor site

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