FAISALABAD: The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) will provide bicycles to its female students.

The university has also started imparting training to female students to ride bicycles and motorcycles to make them self-dependent regarding travelling.

Initially, the university has selected 250 female students for training that is being organised in collaboration with the Punjab Lok Sujag.

Talking to students in the training session, UAF Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad said women faced difficulties regarding transportation. He said the university was making efforts to provide bicycles to the girls for their convenient transportation.

He said women empowerment was necessary to face challenges of the contemporary world and no society could progress without their active participation.

Mr Ahmad said female enrolment in graduate programmes at the campus had reached 50 per cent. He said in the last half decade, women teaching staff had increased manifold on the campus as there were only 40 women teachers four years back and the number had now reached 140.

Punjab Lok Sujag representative Qamar said women were dependent on others for travel on foot and promotion of bicycle riding would help them move around comfortably. He said they had launched the project for universities that would ultimately move to society.

PROBE: Punjab Medical College Principal Dr Zahid Yaseen Hashmi has constituted a four-member committee to probe alleged misappropriation of funds by the officials of the Psychiatric Ward of DHQ Hospital.

The inquiry committee comprises Vice-Principal Dr Muhammad Ali Tirmazi (chairman), Prof Naeem, head of Pharmacology Department, Prof Saeed, head of ENT 2 Ward, and Mian Munwwar, a member of the board of directors.

Board of Management head Mian Muhammad Latif was informed that ward incumbents had been receiving fees from the students of private and state-run institutions for internship but they were not depositing the collected fees with the national kitty.

Talking to Dawn, Mian Latif said the administration had been asked to probe the matter thoroughly.

“We have not allowed anyone to receive fee for internship from any student,” he said, adding that the committee would conclude its findings within a couple of days.

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2014