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December 31, 2008	Wednesday	Muharram 02,1430

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RAWALPINDI, Dec 30: The Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) and teachers of the girl colleges have taken exception to the idea of turning the playgrounds of the girl colleges into evening parks for women and vowed to resist the move for the preservation of academic environment.

The Punjab government through a letter has directed the district officer (DO) Colleges to get the response and viewpoints of the principals of 24 girl colleges in Rawalpindi district on the proposal. The principals are required to submit their response within 10 days to the office of the DO.

Talking to Dawn, PPLA Rawalpindi chapter president Ilyas Qureshi said it was an impractical plan of the provincial government and an illogical advice as only 20 per cent of the all colleges had playgrounds that were not detached from the academic blocks of the educational institutions.

The idea if implemented would only affect the working and learning environment of the colleges as all colleges had one entry and exit point. The colleges would be turned into parks that would present the picture like many parks of the city, he said.

It was eccentric on the part of the new provincial government to even entertain the idea and if needed it should establish new parks for women in the city, Mr Qureshi said.

He revealed that every government had promised to the administration of the Girls Degree College B-Block in Satellite Town to move away the parking place of the sanitary vehicles of the municipal administration near the college and turn it into a ladies park but it is yet to be materialized.

A principal of a girls college said she wondered how the government could think about making the playgrounds of educational institutions a recreational place. She said it was beyond her understanding how the waste left by the visiting women and their children would be cleaned for the next morning assembly of the students.

Seeking anonymity, the principal said the plan if implemented would usher in many problems for the college administrations as the class rooms and the buildings would be at risk for there was no wall separating them from the playgrounds.

When contacted, DO Colleges Ulfat Janjua said he had forwarded the letter proposing the use of grounds as evening parks to the principals to get their response. He said all arrangements would be made to protect the colleges’ sanctity and buildings. New gates could be created and new walls erected to separate the buildings from the grounds, he added.

He said the reservations and fears of the principals would be allayed before implementing the plan that would be a great facility to the womenfolk of the city.