PESHAWAR: The University of Peshawar will establish its own testing service from the coming academic year and conduct NTS type test for admissions to BS, MA and MSc programmes from the current session.

The expertise and services of the testing system would also be offered to other public sector universities for admissions in various programmes.

This was decided at meeting of the heads of teaching departments with Vice-Chancellor Professor Mohammad Rasul Jan in chair.

Governance and management, financial reforms and the upcoming masters’ examinations were also among the agenda items.

Professor Jan informed the meeting that due to special austerity measures the university had closed its last fiscal year with zero deficit in comparison to a deficit of Rs219 million in the year 2012-13.

He added that some tough financial decisions were taken last year and due to support of the heads of departments the varsity was in a better financial position now.

Dr Jan urged strict implementation of rules, saying that employees involved in private businesses, institutions or any job other than their own university without grant of NOC would be dealt according to the employees’ efficiency and discipline rules, while their heads would also be held responsible for the negligence.

The vice chancellor said that new heads of department should take decision in consultation with the senior faculty members so that better academic and financial management was achieved while chances of irregularities were avoided.

He asked the chairmen to sent cases of deserving students to him so they were conditionally allowed for appearing in the examinations.

The director admissions told the meeting that 355 students had applied for the HEC scholarships and the amount would be disbursed among them as soon as the money was received by the varsity.

He said that the deserving students would also be reimbursed fees from the university employees students endowment fund.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2014