Sub-campus: Handover of college to Gujrat varsity opposed

Teachers say autonomous administration will raise student fees and affect college’s status.

RAWALPINDI:

Teachers in Rawalpindi have opposed the Punjab government’s decision of elevating the Post Graduate College for Women (PGCW), Satellite Town, to a sub-campus of the University of Gujrat (UOG).

They say the college has been working well under the Punjab government and must not be handed over to UoG, which is an autonomous body.

Punjab Professors Lectures Association Rawalpindi Chapter President Liaqat Abbasi said it would be an unwise move to hand over the college to the varsity.

He said the university will implement its own fee structure, which is much higher than the nominal charges students currently pay, and that its women-only status will go away once it goes to the university.

The teaching and non-teaching staff at the college is also worried about their future as the autonomous administration will handle their affairs on its own terms.

“The handover can also impact our employment,” he remarked, adding that teachers fear they might be transferred to other colleges in the Rawalpindi Division.

“We are not against university campuses in Rawalpindi. The government should allocate separate land for a new university instead of handing over existing public colleges to universities. It is a sort of privatisation of colleges,” said Abbasi.

“Instead of addressing our grievances, the government is making conditions tough for us. The government a few years ago had attempted to hand over educational institutes to autonomous boards, only for the move to be resisted by teachers and then dropped,” he added.

Abbasi informed that the Sargodha and Gujrat universities have set up their campuses in Gujranwala and Gujrat too but separate land or buildings have been acquired for the purpose.

He said the government should allot separate land instead of converting colleges into sub-campuses.

Teachers Unity Forum Pakistan President Rawalpindi Division Ghulam Muttaza said the Punjab government should bring teachers on board when making such decisions.

Rawalpindi Division Director Colleges Humayun Iqbal said he could not comment on the issue since he had not received an official notification in this regard. He said as per the standard operating procedure, UoG and the Higher Education Commission are bound to send a copy of the notification to him. He, however, hoped the notification will be received in two to three days.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 13^th, 2014.