The degree colleges in Punjab’s seven districts – Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur, Nankana Sahib, Attock, Okara, Pakpattan and Mianwali – don’t have post-graduate classes for male and female students.

Even Prime Minister Imran Khan’s home district, Mianwali, is among them.

A briefing on the subject was given at a meeting of the College Reform Committee held at Civil Secretariat with Punjab Minister Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun.

According to sources, there are 80 post-graduate colleges in the province, but their number will increase to 87 after the proposed addition.

The Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) spokesperson told www.24newshd.com that the government had set the target of bringing the total of post-graduate colleges to 100. “We are aiming at setting up separate post-graduate colleges for male and female students in every district in the longer run,” he said.

He added that the work on up-gradation of colleges in the seven abovementioned districts would start soon. “We want to start classes by this year’s fall admissions,” the spokesperson said.

Raja Yasir said, “The Punjab government will set up at least one post-graduate college for men and women in every district”.

The minister directed to identify a degree college in 10 days that could be upgraded to a post-graduate college.

The meeting also discussed various proposals for the colleges’ rehabilitation in the remote areas.

The additional secretary was directed to immediately prepare a list and submit rehabilitation suggestions at the next meeting.

A proposal to fix incentive package for the teachers being appointed in remote areas’ colleges was also discussed.

For the technological advancement in the department, the minister ordered the establishment of an ‘Admin Portal’ for teachers interested in working on administrative posts as well as the provision of training to teachers for associate degree programmes.