The Punjab government has decided to upgrade Lahore’s Home Economics College for Women by giving it the status of a university. The bill granting the status was passed with a simple majority during the 26th session of the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday.
According to details, ‘The University of Home Economics Lahore Bill 2016’ was referred to the Punjab Assembly’s standing committee on education on August 24, 2016, and the committee held six meetings to review the bill before recommending it to the assembly to be passed.
As per the bill, a search committee of three to five members will be constituted by the government to recommend three women, one of whom will then be selected as the vice-chancellor (VC) of the university. The bill also clearly mentions that extensions in the tenure of the VC will not be granted.
Speaking on the bill, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s MPA Dr Nausheen Hamid said that there was no need to upgrade the college as the government would definitely increase the fee after raising it to the status of a university. “This prestigious college has been educating thousands of girls from all over the province for decades and usually the girls are from low-income families,” she said, concerned about a fee hike in the coming days. She further added that there was a lack of transparency in the formation of the search committee that will conduct interviews of the potential VC candidates.
Saadia Sohail Rana, another MPA of the PTI, said that education was not meant just to construct buildings, but to play an important role in building the characters of individuals. She was of the view that there was a dire need of raising the standard of education which was, unfortunately, rapidly deteriorating. “The sole purpose of the government in giving this college the status of a university is the minting of money in the name of education,” she said.
Dr Murad Raas, a member of the standing committee on education, said that the government was upgrading the college just to oblige its former principal Dr Samia Kalsoom at the behest of the National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq. “I have solid proof that Ayaz Sadiq is behind this move and it will be evident when Samia Kalsoom receives a post in the university,” he said.
“We have to establish new educational institutions in order to meet international standards of education,” Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said, while also revealing that the university will be constructed on an area of 17 acres.
Interestingly, the government had arranged a lunch for the provincial assembly members to ensure their presence. The passage of four bills was dependent on it. Besides the bill pertaining to the Home Economics College, ‘The Punjab Local Government (amendment) Bill 2017’, ‘The Punjab Drugs (amendment) Bill 2017’ and ‘The Punjab Land Records Authority Bill 2016’ were also passed with simple majorities.
According to ‘The Punjab Local Government (amendment) Bill 2017’, local governments in the province cannot be dissolved before completing their five-year mandates. ‘The Punjab Drugs (amendment) Bill 2017’ ensures that strict action will be taken against dealers of spurious and adulterated drugs, with punishments of a maximum of five years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rs 10 million. ‘The Punjab Land Records Authority Bill 2016’ is meant to improve land records service delivery. According to the law minister, the land records of 55 million people have already been computerised by the Punjab government.
The session will resume on Thursday morning.
There are more of the respected provisions and thoughts been placed out here and favorably for the future would bring around all those values which are indeed considered to be so essential. how to write a personal statement for dental school
Comments are closed.