KOHAT: The government degree college, Gumbat, completed at a cost of Rs140 million a year ago is still without water and electricity, which has been adversely affecting the students.

“We are now waiting for a divine help for the provision of basic facilities in the college after getting disappointed with the Pesco, college administration, Public Health Engineering Department, and MPA Amjid Afridi, advisor to the chief minister, who had approved the college building from his fund,” said the college staff when contacted by Dawn.

They said on condition of anonymity that the classrooms got extremely heated without fans and the latrines were closed due to unavailability of water.

The students most affected are that of the computer science department whose 90 per cent work is based on practical, but the costly computers could not be operated in the absence of electricity, they added.

The teachers said that earlier the college was run in a rented building for four years and they had been promised that building of the new college would be ready by 2013, but the date was extended to 2014.

Classes started in the new building last year

They said that the college was shifted to the new building in winter last year and even then the contractor was demanding more time to complete the construction.

They said that the MPA was also tightlipped about the pending issues.

The teachers said that the college was duly approved, but no money was paid to it from its annual fund and the administration had to borrow Rs800,000 from the government postgraduate college, Kohat, for making security arrangements after the APS incident.

The teachers said that the education department had paid Rs160,000 to the Pesco, Kohat, for provision of electricity two years ago, but it was yet to instal a transformer for the purpose.

They said that the latrines were closed because of unavailability of water and the students used to pee in the open near the college.

“The college’s opening date of Sept 1, 2015 after the summer vacation is drawing nearer and it will be very difficult to spend a day in the hot classrooms without electricity,” they said.

They have appealed to the provincial government to conduct an inquiry into the matter and order provision of facilities to the students.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2015

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