CM okays Rs400m to build women campus of BUST

Calls for improving standards of education in ex-FATA

PESHAWAR: The interim provincial government has decided to allocate Rs400 million to set up a women campus of a science university in Bannu.

This move was sanctioned by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retired) Dost Muhammad Khan during a meeting with vice chancellor of the Bannu University of Science and Technology (BUST) at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in Peshawar on Wednesday.

Justice Dost further directed to plan a new campus of BUST in the newly merged district of North Waziristan.

Moreover, he called for providing training of international standards to one of the departments and staff of the university with the assistance from the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIK).

He also sanctioned an irrigation and water supply scheme for the varsity, adding that the government was in contact with donor agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and certain banks to provide financial support to all universities in the province.

The interim chief minister stressed on the promotion of research-based education, modern science and technology, and focusing on entrepreneurship.

Justice Dost further said that we should focus on quality in producing graduates to compete with the world.

He directed the Higher Education secretary to restore the educational system of newly merged districts on a priority basis since these districts were far behind other areas of the country in the field of education.

BUST vice chancellor gave detailed briefing about the varsity, its objectives, current infrastructure, and struggle for the building a women campus and other problems.

The caretaker chief minister assured all administrative and financial support to the varsity and that the provincial government will promulgate an ordinance to introduce a uniform policy on education for the entire province.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2018.