KU sets up exam hall for external candidates

Varsity carries out several maintenance works

KARACHI: An examination hall with a capacity of 2,000 students has been set up near Maskan gate for external examinations at Karachi University, said faculty of management and administrative sciences dean Prof Dr Khalid Iraqi, who was also the acting vice-chancellor of KU for one week.

The hall has been constructed from funds given by the alumni to ease the problems of external candidates. "The hall will only be used for examination purposes," he explained.



Revamp of one road

Walking through the road leading to Kaneez Fatima gate from Staff Club, anyone who has studied at KU must have noticed the broken roads. However, the path has now been repaired and newly carpeted while streetlights have also been installed at the site.

Other than installing lights on the darker roads of the university, all the boundary walls are been constructed and fixed, said Iraqi. "All the walls that were broken are fixed so that it cannot be used in any criminal activity," said Iraqi, under whose supervision the maintenance work was carried out.

According to Iraqi, the university administration cannot repair every road with the limited resources and specified funds. However, he added, they can at least carry out maintenance work. He added that the first priority of the university was to provide a safe and secure environment and maintain the quality and hygiene in the canteens all over the varsity.

Don't take too much notice of university rankings, they're flawed

"Streetlights are the need of the hour as they will make the roads secure for those studying in evening programmes and the employees who are living on campus," said Iraqi. He also told The Express Tribune that streetlights on internal roads will be helpful in controlling crimes such as snatching and harassment cases.

Maintaining hygiene standards

Meanwhile, canteens and their caretakers have been provided with specific criteria to ensure cleanliness of their premises, violation of which will result in imposition of fine by the inspecting team. "One of the main issues in the university is of cleanliness and hygiene of food," he said, adding that each department has a canteen and they have been told to keep dustbins in front of their shops and given the responsibility of keeping their premises clean.

In order to revive the central cafeteria, it will be given on a contract through bidding. The contractor will renovate the building and will make sure the cafeteria is run by the same administration and owner. "The cafeteria should reflect that it is the oldest and the only central cafeteria of the university," said Iraqi.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2016.