FATA varsity site: Senate panel asks officials to finalise plan in 15 days

Standing committee asks education ministry to resolve long-standing issue.


Our Correspondent December 18, 2014

ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel has set a 15-day deadline for completion of the documentation and procedures for the establishment of the first-ever university in the troubled tribal areas.

The Senate standing committee on education on Tuesday discussed the issue in its meeting at the parliament house asking the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) to call a meeting and resolve the problem.

Efforts for land acquisition have been ongoing since 2002 and politically-backed influential people have been wrangling over the construction site.

SAFRON additional secretary informed the chair that the Fata Secretariat has not replied to the recommendations of the last meeting.

The committee in its last meeting had rejected the site spread over 266 kanals for the university to be constructed in Akorwal area of Darra Adam Khel at an estimated cost of Rs140 million.

“The 266-kanal is insulting,” remarked Senator Abdul Nabi Bangash remarked asking the Fata secretariat and other officials to finalise the issue without any further delay.

Education minister Balighur Rehman commented that the at least 2,000 kanals should be acquired as was agreed by all the members.

The Higher Education Commission Chairperson Dr Mukhtar Ahmad informed the senators about the construction of the University in Sibbi. “The provincial government has provided around 250 acres free of cost and work on the site is under way,” he said.

In regards to the construction of a university in every district, Ahmad added that a survey had been carried out across Punjab and Balochistan, while a survey was under way in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.

“In Balochistan’s Muslim Bagh, Dera Murad Jamali, and Bolan only campuses of a few varsities would be constructed owing to the low enrolment”.

Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi Vice-Chancellor Dr Sameena Qadir informed the committee that her university, which is housing 5,220 students from 89 districts, was facing shortage of transport facility. She lamented that the Punjab chief minister had promised to release Rs220 million but only Rs40 million have been released so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2014.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ