KARACHI, Oct 14: The Sindh government has notified amendments to the private universities and educational institutes laws, through which, among other requirements, now the patron of the private universities and institutes has the authority to cause inspection or inquiry in to the affairs of these institutions on his own.

The amendments promulgated by the Sindh governor under the title “the Private Universities and Educational Institutes Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2002”, would be applicable in the case of at least 18 universities and institutes established so far by the private sector in the province under the charter granted by the Sindh government since 1991.

The 2002 ordinance on private universities and institutes sought an addition to Section 7 of the Universities and Institutes Acts. The patron may cause any inspection or inquiry to be made on his own motion in respect to any matter concerned with the affairs of the university/institute and shall, from time to time, direct any person or persons to inquire into or carry out inspection of the university or institutes’ buildings, laboratories, libraries, departments or hostel; the adequacy of financial and human resources; the teaching, research, curriculum, examination and other matters, and other such matters as may be specified by the patron.

The patron shall communicate to the board of the university or institute his views with regards to the results of the visitation, and shall, after ascertaining the views of the board, advise the board on the action to be taken by it.

The patron — generally the Sindh governor — shall have full powers to take any action, as he may deem fit, against the university or institute, including the withdrawal of charter and its closure, added the new ordinance.

The higher education organizations would have to work within the framework of the educational policy and guidelines framed by the government from time to time. Annual monitoring charges as fixed by the government from time to time shall be paid by the university or institute through a pay order in the name of the secretary education, government of Sindh, for university funds being maintained by the governor’s secretariat.

The new laws would be added to Section 7 of the charters of Hamdard University, Ziauddin Medical University, Sir Syed University, Baqai Medical University, Isra University, Greenwich University, Jinnah University for Woman, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Iqra University and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture at Karachi.

The new ordinance would also be applicable in the case of DHA Suffa University, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, the Institute of Business Management, Karachi Institute of Economics and Technology, Sindh Textile Institute of Pakistan, Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari Institute of Technology, Preston Institute of Management Science and Technology and Newport Institute of Communications and Economics.