QUETTA, Dec 23: Balochistan University Vice-Chancellor Brig (retd) Agha Gul Ahmed has announced that a new university will soon be established in Turbat to facilitate students of far-flung areas, especially those living in the Mekran coastal belt.

Speaking at a press conference here on Saturday, he said as per directive of President Pervez Musharraf, he had forwarded the PC-I of the proposed university to Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

The VC said the Balochistan University, being the only institution for higher education in the province, attracted students from across the province. The students living in far-flung areas, he said, had to face a lot of trouble in coming to Quetta for the purpose but now, with the establishment of another university in Turbat, the problem of the students living in Gwadar, Loralai and other areas of the Mekran coastal belt would be resolved to a great extent.

Referring to the Balochistan University, the VC said that the university would spend Rs972 million over the next five years to expand the existing infrastructure of the university to accommodate new disciplines.

Mr Gul said that his vision was to make the university a model educational institution of the province that provided affordable and top quality higher

education to produce top class professionals in different fields that would later help develop the province to bring it on a part with other provinces of the country.

The vice-chancellor announced a 22-point programme to improve the standard of higher education in the province.

He said in order to give a boost to higher education in the province, all teachers of the Balochistan University had been promoted to Grade 18 and above.

Referring to past incidents of lawlessness in the province as well as in the university, the VC said such incidents badly disrupted educational activities in the university. Now, he said, the situation had become normal because of the cooperation of students, teachers and all staff members of the campus. Giving details of the campus-related violence, he said 21 university buses were damaged in the violence, depriving the students of the pick-and-drop facility.

He said under the new programme, the university had bought 14 new buses to provide the pick-and-drop facility to the students. Referring to hostel condition, he said it was in ramshackle condition with broken bathrooms, no running water facility and no provision of hot or cold water. Now, he said, such facilities had been restored in the hostel to help the students concentrate on their study.

The vice-chancellor said the university administration was, however, facing some problems because of unauthorised occupation of some of the hostel rooms by at least 300 unauthorized people who, the VC, alleged had the protection of some student unions.

He warned the occupants to vacate the hostel rooms otherwise the university administration would close the hostel for an indefinite period.