LAHORE: A Chinese university of technical and vocational education is being established in Lahore by February next year for, what official sources said, raising human resource for the sectors Beijing is interested in exploring in Punjab.

Sources said the groundwork for the varsity had been finalised and the law department had been sent the draft of an ordinance that would provide legal cover to the institution.

The Punjab Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) had signed an agreement with the Tianjin University of Technology and Education, China, on May 17 this year to collaborate in establishing a varsity of technical and vocational training in Punjab by reconstituting a Tevta-run institution.

In this connection, the chief minister notified a committee under the school education minister for coordinating with Tianjin University for the purpose.

The committee held a series of meetings and discussed various options and features of the proposed varsity, including its charter, courses to be offered, budgetary requirements, faculty hiring, availability of space as per requirements of the Punjab Higher Education Commission.Source said the varsity would most likely be run by Chinese faculty and consultants to ensure production of quality human resource. It could be given the premises of either The Government College of Emerging Technologies, Green Town, or The Government College of Technology, Raiwind.

They said both the sites were visited by a delegation of Tianjin University last month. The delegation also called on the chief minister and discussed various options for the new varsity.

The chief minister later constituted a steering committee with the direction to establish the university by February 2017. The draft ordinance it sent to the law department would soon be promulgated, they said.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2017