BAHAWALPUR, May 5: College education in the division is in disarray, as the Punjab government has ignored the Bahawalpur division in respect of provision of facilities at colleges, teaching staff and funds for new as well as ongoing projects despite tall claims.
It’s learnt that Rs5 million were released for repair of buildings of 35 colleges of three districts during the financial year 2011-12.
Punjab’s higher education department released Rs35.697 million for 26 autonomous colleges of the province out of total block allocation of Rs250.59 million. Of this released amount, Rs0.240 million and Rs0.040 million were given to autonomous colleges like Government Sadiq Degree Girls College and Government Sadiq Egerton College Bahawalpur, respectively, as compared to Rs5.038 million and Rs3.696 million for the Government College of Science, Wahdat Road, Lahore and Government College for Boys, Satellite Town, Gujranwala, respectively.
Additional funds (under the ADP up to March 2012) of more than 415 million were required to provide missing facilities at 18 of the 35 colleges of Minichinabad, Chishtian, Dahranwala, Sammasatta, Government Post-Graduate College, Bahawalpur, Haroonabad, Ahmedpur East, Hasilpur, Bahawalnagar Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad and Tailwala and the directorate of colleges had approached the government to get this amount. Dahranwala boys and girls degree colleges were established in 1998. Their ongoing schemes are incomplete for a lack of funds and the department has demanded funds for each college for the completion of development work.
The situation in Sammasatta is serious as buildings of colleges for boys and girls have been under-construction since 2009 and students have to travel to Bahawalpur for education. A sum of Rs10 million is required for the completion of building of each college.
It’s learnt that 508 vacancies of professors (BS-20), associate professors (BS-19), assistant professors (BS-18) and lecturers (BS-17) are vacant at boys and girls colleges of the division.
It’s said that at girls colleges in Yazman and other places students are forced to sit either on floor or mats, which they bring to classrooms on their own. In a Chishtian college, MA classes have been introduced, but there are no classrooms.
Bahawalpur division director colleges Muhammad Mushtaq told Dawn that efforts were afoot to secure funds from the government for the ongoing schemes. He said recruitment of new lecturers was under way through the Punjab Public Service Commission and Bahawalpur division would get its quota of 363 lecturers (208 men and 155 women) in the coming days.
He said the Punjab government last year sanctioned 35 posts of Seraiki lecturers. Of these, Bahawalpur division got quota of eight lecturers, who had yet to be appointed to colleges in the division. He said buildings of five new degree colleges in Marot, Kudwala, Sukkur Adda, 103-1-L village in Bagho Bahar and Khan Bela were expected to be completed by June and admissions were likely to begin by new academic year. Each college is estimated to cost Rs100 million.
