SAHIWAL: The Government Postgraduate College, Sahiwal, will not be merged into newly-proposed chartered university in Sahiwal city rather it will work as one of the affiliated colleges of the university, having a full autonomous status as a public sector college.

The fee structure will also not be increased for students.

This was assured by Commissioner Muhammad Sadeeq Shaikh during a meeting with a six-member delegation of divisional representatives of the Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association (PPLA) in his office, sources said on Thursday.

They said the PPLA delegation met the commissioner to show concerns and reservations over the Punjab government’s proposed move to upgrade the college as a charted university.

Islam Dola, divisional president of the PPLA, said there were more than 9,000 poor and middle class students studying in the college with a minor fee structure.

“Once converted into an autonomous university, it will no more serve the poor but only those who can afford high fee,” he said.

The PPLA delegation told the commissioner that college teachers opposed the government’s higher education policy of converting colleges into universities but this did not mean they were against the establishment a university in Sahiwal.

He said there was a proposal of developing Bahauddin Zakariya University’s sub-campus into an autonomous university without disturbing the public status of the postgraduate college.

Dawn learnt from sources that while establishing the BZU sub-campus at Sahiwal, it was declared in its PC-I that it would be made an autonomous university and detached from BZU’s main campus in 2014. The PPLA argued that instead of disturbing college’s present status and future of 9,000 students, the Punjab government must set up a university in Sahiwal.

The commissioner assured the PPLA delegation that the college would not be merged into a proposed chartered university but it would get affiliated with the proposed university, adding that the present fee structure and service structure would remain intact and the poor would get education accordingly.

Dr Muhammad Babar, director BZU sub-campus, said was not aware of any such move as nothing concrete or written had come to him till date.

Prof Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, director colleges, Dr Khalid Farooq, principal, Government Postgraduate College, Sahiwal, Habib Jillani Venis, director development, and Tahira Ikram, Sahiwal AC, were present in the meeting.

Dr Waseem, parliamentary leader of Jamaat-i-Islami, had submitted a privilege motion to the Punjab Assembly on Aug 28 against the conversion of Sahiwal college into a chartered university.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2014