Pak, Three Others Have Resumed Funding: SAUNew Delhi: Amid financial hiccups and years of irregular payments by several Saarc countries, the South Asian University (SAU) has said that member states have resumed financial contributions. This includes Pakistan, one of the most erratic funders, which has paid up this year despite heightenedP geopolitical tensions."Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan have started paying in 2025 and the university has bounced back from the brief financial crunch it faced. I told them clearly — either pay or lose their share of governance in the institution," SAU president K K Aggarwal said, adding Afghanistan and Sri Lanka are yet to contribute.According to university records, Pakistan, which had not contributed between 2010 and 2016 and made only sporadic payments later, released $69,921 in 2025. Its cumulative share since inception now stands at nearly $7.5 million, which is just 2.7% of the total funds received by SAU since 2010, far below its allocated 13% share in the university's funding arrangement.
However, with over $241 million, it has contributed nearly 90% of the total funds since 2010. Bangladesh, with $6.7 million (2.4% contribution compared to its 8.2% allocation) and Nepal $5.3 million (1.9% compared to 4.9% allocation) are the next largest contributors, while Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan together have contributed less than $5 million.According to Aggarwal, the renewed inflows have also allowed SAU to push a massive infrastructure expansion. "We have already built projects worth Rs 1,200 crore and another Rs 800 crore is in the pipeline," he said, adding that fees have been increased by 25% — the first hike in over a decade — alongside rationalisation of salaries.Meanwhile, the university has also seen its student strength more than doubling this year — from 600 to 1,600. However, the student enrolment data reflects the uneven participation of Saarc countries. This year, SAU admitted 1,032 students, including 986 from India, 20 from Nepal, 15 from Bangladesh, four from Afghanistan, three from Bhutan and four from Sri Lanka. No Pakistani students joined despite eight admission offers and 16 applications.Till last year, Afghanistan had 10 students, Bangladesh 23, Nepal 25 and Sri Lanka three, while Pakistan had none.
Aggarwal said the university has sought to offset such imbalances by launching a virtual campus to accommodate students from conflict-hit or visa-constrained countries, with an MSc in Data Science and AI already underway and more programmes to follow.Defending the institution's disciplinary actions, which have in the past drawn protests and even court cases, Aggarwal said SAU has tribunals to handle student grievances given its international nature."We reinstated some teachers who appealed and even paid them salaries for the suspended period. If the court asks us to reinstate another professor, we have no problem with that either. But we cannot allow a culture where a small section of students, influenced by some teachers, creates nuisance and brings a bad name to the university. By taking action, we want to ensure a wrong precedent is not set," he said.Aggarwal said despite political tensions in the region, SAU's functioning has not been affected.
He added the university is also exploring collaborations beyond Saarc, including with Cornell University, but intends to prioritise the regional arrangement with plans to set up centres in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
The article appeared in timesofindia