LAHORE, April 17: As the Punjab government continues to ‘pamper’ autonomous educational institutes, public sector colleges functioning in either rented or borrowed premises have more to complain with their teachers and students bickering about step-motherly treatment.
“While we don’t have any funds to get our classes renovated or replace the rusty furniture, the chief minister has been doling out million of rupees to the Kinnaird College,” the principal of a government girls’ college, who requested anonymity, said while talking to this reporter.
Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi had announced Rs10 million grant to the Kinnaird College, an autonomous institution, at its convocation held on April 10 this month.
The colleges, which are granted autonomy, are supposed to run their academic affairs without seeking the government’s monetary help. Those colleges given autonomy in Lahore are the Kinnaird College, Lahore College University for Women, Government College University, Queen Mary College and the Fatima Jinnah College, Chuna Mandi.
“The Kinnaird College, which is already charging high fees from students, is not a fit case for any grant from the government,” the girls’ college principal said.
The college charges more than Rs30,000 annually from an intermediate and a graduate student. A two-year postgraduate programme costs a student more than Rs150,000 a year.
A senior education official, who requested not to be named, told Dawn that the Kinnaird College had millions of rupees to meet its requirements. “It does not require any extraneous help,” he added.
Unlike other colleges in the city, he pointed out that the Kinnaird College had a long history of getting special treatment from the government (even before getting autonomy). He said the government had bought the college an adjacent piece of land worth millions of rupees, besides providing financial grants on eight occasions between 1975 and 1995.
On the other hand, he said an ordinary public college received the pledged grant after an inordinate delay, or in some cases it was not fully released.
According to the Directorate Public Instruction officials, the Government Islamia Inter College for Boys (Cantonment), Government Hashmi Memorial College (Samanabad), Government Shah Husain College (Township) and Government Inter College for Girls (Raiwind) have been functioning in rented buildings. More pathetic than this was the fact that the Government Degree College for Women (Bilal Ganj) had been functioning at the old TB Hospital’s building. The Government Inter College at Datanagar was using the building of a government high school, the officials added.
There are some government colleges, which required urgent renovation and construction of additional academic blocks, science and computer laboratories and new hostels. These include the Government Shalamar College, Government College for Women (Baghbanpura), Government College for Women (Samanabad), Government APWA College, Government Quliatul Banaat College, Government Inter Girls College (Mustafaabad), Government Model Degree College (Model Town), Government College of Education for Boys, Government College of Education for Girls and the Government Physical College for Boys.
Similarly, some 13 government colleges in Sheikhupura, two in Kasur and one each in Pattoki, Bhai Pheru, Okara, Deepalpur and Mustafaabad need immediate renovation. Almost all the colleges in Lahore required furniture and fixture, they said.
If the government conducted a survey of the Punjab’s 370 public sector colleges, it would find most of these without basic amenities, the officials said.
The Punjab chief minister also announced two new coasters for the Kinnaird College. Most of the college students, who belong to well-off families, hardly face conveyance problems. Ironically, the students of the Government MAO College, Government Dyal Singh College, Government Islamia College, Civil Lines, Government Shalamar College and many others have to put up with heat and cold waiting for transport at bus stops. The MAO College students often block traffic on the Lower Mall to protest against shortage of buses.
Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association President Nazim Hasnain has criticized the government for granting millions of rupees to the autonomous institutions. He said thousands of public sector colleges in the province had been deprived of basic facilities. These required the government’s immediate attention, he said. “If the autonomous institutions cannot meet their expenditure, the government should take them back,” he suggested.
The chief minister also announced Rs1.6 million annual scholarship grant to the Kinnaird College. It is to be recalled that about 27 per cent of the total amount of scholarships announced by the Punjab government last year for postgraduate students of 50 institutes was given to the autonomous schools and colleges.
The students, who got scholarships, included those who were admitted on a self-finance basis, paying between Rs25,000 and Rs100,000 a year.
Educationalists believe that such students are not entitled to any scholarship offered by the government. “The government should set a different criteria for granting scholarship to the autonomous institutions,” they suggest. “We are unable to understand why the government is so generous with the autonomous institutions,” they wonder.