CHAKWAL: The construction of a technical college in Chakwal remains incomplete even after seven years due to the lack of funds.

However, the authorities enrolled 300 students in the college without taking into account their security. 

The idea to set up the Government Polytechnic College near the Thoha Bahadur village in Chakwal was conceived in 2007 by the then district nazim, Sardar Ghulam Abbas.  

According to sources in the provincial building department, the PC-1 of the college was approved on November 7, 2007, and Rs119.373 million were sanctioned for the project. But after the suspension of the local government system in the wake of the 2008 elections, the disbursement of funds for the project was irregular. After the construction of the main academic block, the project was left abandoned. 

On May 10, 2010, the Punjab government revised the project from the initial cost of Rs119.373 million to Rs183.663 million. Under the revised cost, an academic block, offices, auditorium, hostels, residences for the staff, a mosque, library, canteen and technical lab were to be built.  

But the project remained without funds for three years as not a single rupee was released from 2011 to 2013. As the authority to release the funds was given to the Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA), the project remained sandwiched between the building department and TEVTA. 

Last year, however, the project was given to the building department again which resumed the construction work. The college was also renamed Government College of Technology Chakwal. 

Currently, work on the hostel, auditorium, boundary wall, grounds and residences remains incomplete due to the unavailability of funds. 

The vast lawn of the college looks like a jungle as it is covered with thick grass and weeds. 

There are 31 sanctioned posts for teachers and 53 for non-teaching staff but except the principal, all the vacancies are yet to be filled. The college was opened for students by hiring 11 teachers and five non-teaching staff. 

Since the Peshawar school carnage on December 16, 2014, the Punjab government has chalked out a comprehensive security plan for educational institutions. But the Government College of Technology Chakwal is without proper security arrangements.

“The boundary wall of the college is not as raised as it should have been while there are no CCTV cameras, walk-through gates or metal detectors,” said an official. 

Under the by-laws, the college should have been given two buses for students but there are none. As the college is located one-and-a-half kilometres away from the Talagang Road, the students face hardship to get to the college and return home.  

The contractor of the project, Mohammad Nisar, said, “There is a big difference between the prices of material in 2007 and 2015. I suffered a heavy loss and faced tension due to this project.”

Subdivisional officer Provincial Building Department Mohammad Inayat told Dawn that Rs30 million were still needed to complete the work. “The funds would be released soon and the work would be completed within a couple of months,” he claimed.  

When contacted, Sheikh Arif Hussain, the principal of the college, claimed that all the issues related to the college would be resolved soon. “The college is vital for the area. We are working to fix its problems,” he maintained.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2015

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