GUJRAT: The government’s plan to establish a university in Hafizabad has brought embarrassment to the people of Gujranwala, which is yet to get a public varsity despite being a divisional headquarters.

The proposed University of Hafizabad will be the fifth public sector varsity in Gujranwala division. The prime minister is scheduled to lay its foundation stone on Nov 7.

Gujrat was the first district of the region to get a government university when the then Punjab chief minister Parvez Elahi established University of Gujrat in 2003-04 in his hometown. Later, four universities had been established by former chief minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Hafizabad Deputy Commissioner Naveed Shahzad Mirza told Dawn over the phone that the Punjab government had allocated 100 acres of state land to set up the new varsity along Hafizabad-Gujranwala road. The land was previously owned by the irrigation department and located between two canals passing through the area.

Hafizabad varsity to be launched on Nov 7, again ignoring divisional headquarters

He added that the process for land allocation had been completed last year and the foundation stone had to be laid in March this year, but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the government had conveyed to the local administration to start preparations for launching the project on Nov 7.

The scheme was included in the Annual Development Programme and around Rs100 million had been earmarked in the current fiscal year for the construction of the campus and boundary wall. Moreover, Rs1 billion will be further spent on the construction of academic and administrative blocks, hostels and faculty residences.

On the other hand, the people of Gujranwala feel embarrassed at once again being deprived of a public sector university. Talking to this correspondent, people from various walks of life deplored the performance of their elected representatives and successive governments for not having a varsity built here. They added that the city had a population of around 5.1 million, while it was also known for its industrial and business activity that generated huge revenue.

Gujranwala has had a private university and a Punjab University sub-campus for long. A senior journalist said parents were concerned over the situation, as girls especially were compelled to either travel daily to Gujrat or Lahore for higher education, which was costly as well as time consuming.

Gujranwala is considered a PML-N bastion and the party had clinched all National and Punjab assembly seats from the district in 2018. MPA Imran Khalid Butt said that though he was not against the establishment of a university in Hafizabad, but Gujranwala being the divisional headquarters should have been given priority for the project.

When asked why his party did not establish a varsity in the city despite ruling the province for a decade, he said they did have a plan, but several important projects were missed. He added that his party’s government had set up a medical college in Gujranwala during its last tenure.

Published in Dawn, November 2nd, 2020