The end is nigh: Universities galore for the capital

NA body approves NISTE bill, eight varsity bills taken up in last month.

ISLAMABAD:

If passed, it would be the seventh university bill rushed through parliament in the past month. Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, South Asian Strategic Institute University, Darul Madina International University, My University, Capital University for Science and Technology, and the Capital University have already been pushed through.

The National Assembly standing committee on Capital Administration and Development (CAD) approved the draft of National Institute of Science and Technical Education Bill 2012 on Friday after introducing a few amendments.

The amendments were introduced to the original draft — which is aimed to constitute and restructure the status of National Institute of Science and Technical Education (NISTE) Islamabad as a degree awarding institute (DAI) — to comply with the demands of the NISTE employees.

The committee unanimously adopted the amended bill and referred it to the National Assembly, where it was introduced on March 15, 2012 and subsequently referred to the standing committee.

The amendments introduced to the draft of the bill needed to be cleared by the Law and Justice Division, but after the university management requested that the National Assembly move the bill through before its term lapses, the bill with adopted amendments was sent directly to the lower house for early passage.

HEC statistics show there are 16 universities and DAIs in Islamabad Capital Territory, 12 of which are related to engineering degrees but none for technology degrees. The upgradation is aimed at producing high quality technology professionals to fulfill the demands of the industry and to address the gap between existing technologists and engineers.

The four-phase up-gradation programme for the university will span over eight years and include the initiation of several new degree programmes including PhDs in technology, with an expected enrollment of 2,670 students by the eighth year.

The total cost of the proposed PC-I is Rs6.452 billion, which the university management claims is on 12.5 per cent of the cost if the same facility were being established by the private sector from scratch. The recurring cost after completion of the eight-year project will be Rs1.59 billion, which will be covered through fees, grants from the HEC and other avenues.

NISTE officials informed the committee that the university currently possesses 80 to 90 per cent of the equipment required for practical training.

In their presentation, they said the present 26-acre campus of the university has 25 labs and workshops.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.