MULTAN: The Punjab government has ordered reconstitution of four educational institutes of Dera Ghazi Khan, including Bahauddin Zakariya University sub-campus as Ghazi University DG Khan, Dawn has learnt.

The employees of these institutions have also been absorbed in the new university.

According to a Punjab government letter (No19-1/2011) issued on June 19, the Government Postgraduate College for Boys, College of Agriculture, DG Khan Campus of the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, BZU DG Khan’s sub-campus and Ghazi Khan Medical College have been reconstituted in accordance with the Ghazi University Act 2012.

“The property owned or possessed and all rights and all interests held or enjoyed and all liabilities subsisting against government postgraduate college for boys, college of agriculture, BZU sub-campus and Ghazi Medical College subject to provisions of University of Health Sciences Ordinance 2002 (Ordinance LVII of 2002) shall stand transferred to the university,” the Article 3(6) of the Ghazi University Act said.

The Article 3(7) of the Act states that all employees, regular or on contract based, serving in these four institutions shall stand absorbed in the service of the university, except those who are working in such colleges or sub-campuses on deputation with or without deputation allowance.

Ghazi University Registrar Dr Najeeb Haidar said all the four institutions were reconstituted when the Act was passed by the provincial assembly in 2012.

He said the university was made functional on June 11, when the Vice Chancellor Islamia University Bahawalpur Dr Muhammad Mukhtar took over the acting charge of the Ghazi University’s vice chancellor.He said so far the new varsity had more than 7,000 students who were already enrolled with these four institutions.

“The number of faculty members was over 200, out of which about 40 are PhD and more than 50 are M.Phil” he said.

He said besides continuing the existing programmes, the university would also initiate new ones.

Dr Haider said the feasibility report regarding introduction of PhD and M.Phil classes was being prepared on the direction of the vice chancellor.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014