Budget 2019-20: Pakistani government sets Rs. 45 Billion aside for Higher Education

According to the budget planning of the upcoming year, the Pakistani government has allocated a fund of Rs. 28 Billion for the education sector.

The annual government budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 has been announced by the Pakistani government. The budget was presented in the afternoon session of the National Assembly on Tuesday. This was the first ever budget presented by the ruling political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, and was announced by the Minister of State for Revenues Hammad Azhar.

Let’s take a brief look at the different education and research sector budgets and how the amount is distributed. From the total budget of PKR 7,022 billion, the government has set Rs. 951 billion for the federal public sector development budget. The government has also allocated a budget of Rs. 43 Billion for higher education expenditure against the Rs. 46.7 billion HEC fund from last year, indicating a decrease. The development budget entailed Rs. 28 Billion for the general education sector while a dedicated Rs. 43 Billion fund has been allocated to the science and technology sector.

The government has also announced a Tax rebate scheme for employers hiring fresh graduates. The tax credit will benefit employers who will be hiring fresh graduates of HEC-approved universities and institutes. The tax rebate will be calculated with respect to the yearly incomes paid to the fresh graduates of the year 2017 and onwards.

As far as the other details of the budget are concerned, the government has presented a total budget outlay of Rs 7,022 Billion, showing an increase of 30% from last year. The current expenditures have been set at Rs 6,192 billion. The government hasn’t increased the general sales tax on goods and it would remain at 17 percent. The government has also removed the value-added tax on the import of mobile phones which was previously set at 3%.

The article would be updated as more information is made available.