KARACHI, Aug 4: Sindh Minister for Education and Literacy, Dr Hamida Khuhro has stressed upon all concerned to improve the standard of government-run colleges by bringing changes in their administration in order to accommodate students by providing them admission in their own areas.

This she directed while presiding over a meeting to review the Centralised Admission Policy (CAP) at her office on Wednesday.

The Naib Nazim City District Government Karachi, Tariq Hassan, Secretary Education Sindh, Syed Ghulam Ali Shah Pasha, Additional Secretary, Higher Education, Anwar Ahmed Zai, Executive District Officer, Higher Education, Karachi Prof. Raees Alvi and others attended the meeting.

The minister was briefed that CAP is based on provision of admissions to city's colleges purely on merit in which the candidate is provided with an option of 8 colleges of his/ her own choice.

It was further informed that due to strict merit policy the students of Karachi's Lyari area get admission to colleges in Malir which causes hardship for female students, as they have to travel long distances from their homes to study, specially because every student chooses top standard college which are very few.

Thus those students having less marks get admission to colleges located far from their homes. It was informed that CAP also provides opportunity to the candidates with admission to nearby college by admitting claim.

Dr Khuhro said that by revamping, the college education can be improved so that these colleges would have attraction for people. She further suggested strict vigilance to monitor and ensure proper running of educational institutions and agreed upon the idea of Naib Nazim Tariq Hassan for joint surprise visits of colleges and schools along with the minister herself, City Nazim Naimatullah Khan and Naib Nazim Tariq Hassan.

The minister also reviewed the computer literacy at college level and said that computer literacy is essential for the younger generation to compete in the world. She also ordered to bring down computer fees from Rs 500 to Rs 200 or minimum possible. She streesed that computer studies may be given the status of a separate group like medical, engineering, arts, etc. -APP