PESHAWAR, Sept 14: The NWFP assembly on Wednesday recommended that all new educational institutions within the jurisdiction of the Hazara University to seek affiliation with the university. The standing committee on higher education, archives and libraries has also recommended that the educational institutions already affiliated with the Peshawar University should remain with it.

However, if any institution affiliated with the Peshawar University wants affiliation with the Hazara varsity, it should be allowed. The decision was taken at a committee meeting, presided over by MPA Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, held in the conference room of the assembly secretariat.

The meeting discussed the issue of affiliation of colleges and educational institutions with the Hazara University and the process of affiliation and registration of private institutions with the Higher Education Regulatory Authority (HERA).

The body chairman and members were of the view that strategy should be devised to lessen the burden of fees on the private educational institutions and the matter of affiliation with the universities be made easy to encourage them.

The meeting also suggested that quality education should be ensured in all the private institutions and those lacking the criteria be closed.

The committee also recommended that the registration/ affiliation and other fees of the HERA be reduced by 50 per cent and the budget expenditures of the authority should be borne by the University of Peshawar and the provincial government as it was solely coordinating with the two in streamlining the public sector educational institutions.

MPAs Farid Khan, Hamid Shah, Syed Qulb-i-Hassan and Ms Night Yasmeen Orakzai, Secretary Higher Education Sahibzada Khalid, HERA Chairman Humayun Zia, Hazara University VC Prof Dr Muhammad Daud Awan, Law Deputy Secretary Naeem Iqbal, NWFP Assembly Assistant Secretary Hidayatullah and other officers attended the meeting.