ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan gave an approval of a committee to be tasked to review the draft of the proposed state-of-the-art university planned to be set up in the PM House.
The prime minister chaired a meeting here on Wednesday to review the progress report on the varsity university which was attended by the Federal Education and Professional Training minister Shafqat Mehmood, Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri and other officials of the commission and education ministry.
Sources told Pakistan Today that during the meeting, the prime minister approved the formation of a committee tasked to review the draft of the proposed university.
They said that it was decided to set up a committee which would be headed by the HEC chairman to oversee the design and other operational matters of the proposed university.
It was decided that a conference with title ‘Emerging challenges for Pakistan and the Region’ would be held in December next year.
The sources said that it was decided in the meeting that in the first phase of the university, an Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) would be setup, adding that formal educational activities would be started after the establishment of the IAS.
It is pertinent to mention here that a few days ago, a meeting of the committee tasked to convert the PM House into a modern university was held, which was jointly chaired by Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood and Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari.
They said that the PM was informed about the decisions made in the meeting and presented the progress report to him in this regard.
They said that it was proposed in the first deliberative meeting that the PM House’s existing building be converted into a university instead of a new building construction.
Sources said that in the Wednesday’s meeting, it was also discussed that the existing PM building should be used for the university purpose as it would not cost much and additional blocks in the premises be set-up gradually.
The sources further said that it was decided in the meeting that only PhD and MPhil courses will be offered in the university and no compromise will be made on the standard of education since it’s named after the PM.
It was discussed that arrangements for residing of the faculty members of the university be made within the university but no final decision was taken in this regard.
