PESHAWAR, Dec 3: The Peshawar University Teachers Association (Puta) has asked the government to scrap its plans to grant the status of a university to the Islamia College, claiming that another varsity on the same campus would create academic and administrative problems.

“We are against the upgradation of Islamia College to the university level,” said Arbab Khan Afridi, newly-elected president of the Peshawar University Teachers’ Association, at a news conference here on Monday.

NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai is likely to announce the establishment of the Islamia College University on Tuesday.

At the news conference Mr Afridi said: “We are not opposed to the establishment of the Islamia College University, rather we would welcome it. But nowhere in the world do two general universities exist on the same campus. Therefore, we say that the university should be established in Mardan, Charsadda or any other district of the province where no university has been set up in the past 60 years.”

Mr Khan said numerous issues needed to be discussed and addressed before announcing the setting up of the Islamia College University. He said a high-level committee should be constituted having adequate representation from the Puta, University Syndicate and other stakeholders to look into the viability of the proposed university.

He said it had yet to be decided as to how the proposed varsity and the University of Peshawar would fulfil their present and future needs of expansion.

He wondered what would be the legal jurisdiction of the two general universities on the same campus and what would be their rights.