Technical education: New UET campus to be established in Upper Dir

Rs1 billion has been approved for its construction in Wari tehsil

PESHAWAR: In order to enhance technical education in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government plans to build a new campus of University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar in Upper Dir. Till its completion, classes for civil and electrical disciplines will be held at Government College of Management Sciences and  will commence from Monday (today).

This was said at a meeting held on Sunday in Peshawar.

Initially, the K-P government approved Rs1 billion for the purpose. The new campus will be built in Wari tehsil, Upper Dir. The idea of establishing a campus was presented by Minister for Local Government Inaytullah Khan in 2015, while a survey of the location was conducted this year.



The preparation of PC-1 and discussion on the location as well as the purchase of land was also discussed at the  meeting. It was chaired by Inayatullah.

UET Peshawar acting vice chancellor Iftikhar Hussain, Higher Education Chief Planning Officer Muhammad Zaman, planning and development department representative, Shoaib Gillani, and project director Nasir Hussain were present on the occasion.



Construction

The minister said construction work will start on June 13 and more funds will be allocated in the budget for development and completion. He said classes in civil and electrical technology will start immediately.

He pointed out the K-P government is keen to develop the area and construct the new university as well as roads and bridges to provide job opportunities to locals and increase tourism.



The minister said authorities are planning a mega project for Upper Dir which will prove fruitful for overall prosperity.

Temporary arrangement

Meanwhile, the acting VC told The Express Tribune a survey of the new campus has been completed, while classes in two disciplines will commence at Government College of Management Sciences in Upper Dir. He added after construction of the new campus, classes will be shifted to the new building.

He said 80 kanals of land was purchased initially to set up the university campus, while the government will buy more for the said purpose. He confirmed Rs1 billion was approved for construction and more funds will be allocated in the upcoming budget. The VC said the new campus will help ease the burden of students at the main university campus.

“It will not only provide job opportunities to the people of Upper Dir, but also produce [more] talented engineers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.