ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: A Rs3.5 billion PC-1 for setting up a new campus of the Federal Urdu University (FUU) near Chak Shahzad is in the final stages of preparation.

This was stated by FUU's vice-chancellor Prof Dr Syed Iqbal Mohsin at a press briefing held on the campus here on Friday.

The new campus, spanning 80 acres, would comprise an academic block, student hostels, playgrounds, residential facilities for the faculty and rest house for foreign guests visiting the university besides other necessary infrastructure, Dr Mohsin said.

The project would be completed within the next four years. The location for the new campus was ideal for educational activities, he added.

The university, which was presently housed in a rented building near Zero Point, had already achieved its target for the first year by enrolling 835 students, he said.

About the FUU's Karachi and Lahore campuses, he said both campuses were doing their best within the available resources.

He said the present campus was sufficient to cater for the needs of about 4,000 students which the university expected to enrol during the coming four years.

The vice-chancellor said he was also introducing postgraduate programmes including applied engineering, applied physics, applied mathematics, environmental sciences and geophysics.

He said he had already hired services of a number of famous teachers and was striving to make a strong link between the industry and faculty in order to produce professionals as per international market demands. He said he was also ready to hire faculty of international repute.

He said the link was missing between most educational institutions and industries owing to which many people remained jobless after completing their education.

Dr Mohsin said the university fee structure was only Rs20,000 per semester, which was the lowest compared to other universities of the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

About the salary structure of the teaching staff, FUU's project director Dr S.M. Hassan, who also accompanied the vice-chancellor, said it was the Basic Payscale (BPS) operating in all public-sector universities.

When asked about the ceiling amount which was not being paid to the staff, he said the amount had already been approved by the Senate and the case would soon be sent to President Gen Pervez Musharraf for approval.

He said the university was in a position to offer as much as Rs100,000 and above per month to those teachers who had experience of teaching in foreign universities and had an excellent track record.