The Punjab government has released funds of over Rs1.76 billion for the construction of the University of Chakwal, the first higher education institute in the district.
The earmarked amount will be utilised for the university’s city campus, classrooms, two academic blocks, student service centre, girls’ hostel, waiting areas, playground, cafeteria, auditorium, library, faculty offices and the vice chancellor’s office.
Provincial Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun has been credited for his efforts for the establishment of this university, for which approval had been accorded by the government in 2020.
“As soon as approval for the university was received in 2020, the post-graduate boys’ college had started conducting classes on their premises rather than waiting for the university to be built first,” Humayun told The Express Tribune.
“Now that the dream is turning into reality, the establishment of the purpose-built university will bring about a big change in terms of higher education in the region.”
A girls’ hostel will also be made to accommodate 500 to 1,000 female students, he added.
Land has been acquired for the new university and transferred to Punjab Higher Education, while tenders for the construction of buildings will be opened on February 17, with the work order being issued subsequently.
The construction work is estimated to be completed in 14 months, and admissions will begin in the new academic session of 2023.
The establishment of this university will also help relieve some of the pressure of students on the universities in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Lahore, as students of the district and from Azad Jammu and Kashmir will have access to higher education opportunities closer to home.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2022.
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