OKARA: It seems a tough competition: for the 1,500 seats of the first regular session of the University of Okara, more than 9,000 candidates have applied.

The university is offering admission to 20 disciplines of three faculties’ eight departments for the academic session of 2016-17.

The university was earlier a sub-campus of the University of Education, Lahore. For the first time, after being elevated to a regular university, it is offering admissions to different graduate and postgraduate disciplines, including four MPhil and PhD programmes.

PML-N MNA Riazul Haq Juj and MPAs Chaudhry Javid Alauddin and Mian Muhammad Munir, also the member of university syndicate, got it approved from the Punjab government. The last year, the Punjab Assembly passed bill for the university and the Okara campus of the University of Education was awarded the status of an independent university degree awarding institution.

Dr Rauf-i-Azam, vice chancellor of the University of Education, holds the additional charge of the Okara university vice chancellor.

Campus coordinator Dr Khalid Saleem told Dawn the area had lots of education seekers and the Okara University was being developed speedily as the Punjab government was paying special attention to the growth of education.

HELD: Traffic police arrested three drivers and impounded their vehicles for keeping LPG cylinders and petrol canes under the seats of their vehicles.

The police impounded vans driven by Shahbaz, Muhammad Ashfaq and Shahid Iqbal. B-Division police arrested the drivers.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2016