A meeting of the Punjab University Syndicate on Saturday decided to defer the proposed agreement between the university and Daweoo Bus Company regarding lease of 50 kanals campus land near Faisal Town after members raised concerns about the proposed deal.
Higher Education Department Additional Secretary Ali Bahadur Qazi and Finance Department Additional Secretary Muhmmmad Usman told the meeting due to the nature of the agreement, the decision should not be hurried.
A member of the syndicate told The Express Tribune that several members had asked for a discussion on the matter as part of the regular agenda.
He said the university administration had not placed the matter on the agenda for discussion.
He said several members of the syndicate were of the view that signing a deal with a bus company to convert a part of the university campus into a bus stand may have serious repercussions, given “the current law and order situation at the Punjab University.”
He said the proposal would be discussed at the next meeting “point-by-point and clause-by-clause.” He said a decision would be made after detailed deliberation.
“Signing an agreement to build an educational institution, health club or research facility is one thing, giving university land to build a bus stand is another. They don’t have a proper plan; it’s just a structure for a six-storey building with a two-storey basement. The lease period is 30 years. This doesn’t make sense. There are other ways to generate fund for the university rather than turning it into a lorry adda,” said another member of the syndicate who is also a faculty member.
A Punjab University spokesman said, “The syndicate decided to summon a meeting next week to deliberate on the matter which has been included in the regular agenda of the meeting.”
The meeting was presided over by Punjab University Vice Chancellor Mujahid Kamran. Higher Education Department Additional Secretary Ali Bahadur Qazi, Finance Department Additional Secretary Muhammad Usman, HEC representative Rozina Alam Khan, professors Liaqat Ali, Shaukat Ali, Asmatullah, Javed Sami, Shumaila Gul, Amjad Saqib, Irum Bukhari and Registrar Khan Ross Masood were also present.
“The HEC released less than a third of the university’s Rs5 billion budget. The university met two thirds of its expenditures through its own resources. The university collected around Rs100 million in tuition fees, out of which Rs70 million were provided to students in waivers and scholarships. The university allocated Rs100 million for promotion of research and paid Rs75 million for foreign PhD programmes of its faculty members,” the spokesman said.
He said that if syndicate approved the proposed agreement, the university would be able to meet its expenditures. He said this it would also help promote foreign investment in Pakistan. The spokesman said the government had raised salaries and pensions of its employees every year but had not provided funds to universities for the purpose.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2014.