BAHAWALPUR: The Punjab government has reportedly handed over a newly-constructed building of the newly-established Govt Associate College of Home Economics for Women, Bahawalpur, to Govt Sadiq College Women University (GSCWU) for its new campus, says the university’s Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Shazia Anjum.

The VC says that the new campus would be named after Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

Speaking to Dawn on Thursday, she said the building was constructed over 25 acres of public land near Bahawalpur airport to open the home economics college and it had all sorts of facilities and infrastructure with modern classrooms. She added that BS classes at Home Economics College were announced but very few students turned up for admission and the building was lying unutilised. After her posting as the VC of the GSCWU, she wrote to Commissioner Mussarat Jabeen as well as the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) to acquire this building as the classrooms in the existing women university campus were inadequate to accommodate the increasing number of students.

According to the VC, the Punjab Cabinet, in its meeting on Aug 5, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, had approved to merge the Govt Associate College of Home Economics for Women, Bahawalpur, into the women university. In this connection, the HED had sent a notification (a copy available with Dawn) for merger of the college with the university. After the notification, Ms Anjum said, the HED handed over the college building to the university.

Building would be new campus named after Maryam Nawaz

Director Colleges, Bahawalpur Division, Sharafat, could not be available to Dawn for comments.

Dr Shazia Anjum told Dawn that the university had taken over possession of the college building. She dispelled the impression that the Home Economics College would stand disbanded and local girls might be deprived of this facility as the women university would add most of the subjects and departments of the college.

The VC said the university would shift seven departments, including nursing, management sciences, food sciences, biotechnology, to the home economics college building and the classes would start from the new academic year in October. She proposed its name as the Maryam Nawaz New Campus, saying that the chief minister was being requested to inaugurate the new building.

Ms Anjum said new teachers would be recruited in due course of time to cope with the increased number of students in new shifted departments at the new campus.

Regarding the travel of the girl students and teachers to the new campus located far off from the present campus of the university, she claimed that university presently had few buses while more buses in addition to the launch of e-buses in the city by the government were expected here.

She expressed hope that such measures would help to resolve the travel issues of both students and their teachers by launching shuttle service.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2025