Polytech institute: ‘Classes will commence from next year’

ISLAMABAD:

Minister for Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) Tariq Fazal Chaudhry on Wednesday told the National Assembly that classes at the Polytechnic Institute Merabagwal will likely start from the beginning of next year.

Replying to a calling attention notice regarding non-functioning of the institute and the Government College Sihala, the minister said the polytechnic institute has been leased out to the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) for 33 years.

He said through sheer efforts, an agreement was signed with the AIOU on December 2, 2013 to launch classes.

He said that the AIOU has spent Rs47 million on repair and maintenance of the institute so far.

“The new management committee has already been formed and classes will probably start from the next semester,” he said. The minister added that Rs1.5 billion was needed to commence classes in the institute.

Answering a question, he said that a proposal was floated during the tenure of the previous government to convert the institute into a jail, however, that did not happen.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th,  2015.