PESHAWAR, May 10: The NWFP governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said that merit should be the only criterion for admission to all autonomous and semi-autonomous educational institutions as, he remarked, it was the core of all of the policies and reforms introduced by the government.

Presiding over the 27th meeting of the board of governors of Cadet College Razmak here on Friday, he said that ensuring a conducive educational atmosphere together with availability of better board and lodging facilities for the students was essential to maintain the prestige of any institution.

While referring to a proposal for making provision of admission quota for the wards of certain segments of society, the governor said that he had abolished the reserved seats meant to be filled under his signature and, therefore, there should never be any special provision for admission in the college, said a handout.

About the initiatives being taken for the promotion of quality education, he said that under a well-planned strategy the government was converting the existing Urdu-medium schools into English-medium, which, he hoped, would strengthen the institutions, besides promoting quality education.

The governor also directed the managements of the autonomous institutions to avoid the policies of adhocism, saying long-term strategies should be adopted to deal with both the academic and administrative matters.

The meeting reviewed various issues pertaining to the administrative and financial affairs of the college.

It also approved a proposal for the establishment of a model school within the premises of the institution.