Four-year BS (Honour): ‘Sceptical’ GCU loses only attached college
Lahore, July 29: The Punjab higher education department has withdrawn the only degree college attached to the Government College University, Lahore, for affiliation of four-year BS (Honours) programme, following GCU administration’s ‘lame excuses’ including seeking explanation of “attachment”.

The department is launching an ambitious programme of introducing BS (Honours) programme in its 26 top colleges in 12 districts. It had selected eight universities and attached these 26 colleges with them, including Government College of Science, Wahdat Road, Lahore, which has been attached with the Government College University (GCU).

While notifying the attachment of these colleges with eight public sector universities on July 1, the department had asked the principals of these institutions to workout capacity building programmes in consultation with their supervising varsities. The notification also said the colleges should inform the department about any item over and above the estimates, already provided to the department, to be incorporated in the consolidated PC-I.

As the other varsities’ authorities are collaborating with the principals of respective colleges by visiting their facilities, including labs and libraries, the GCU administration engaged itself with the higher education department on the explanation of plans and meaning of “attachment”.

GCU Registrar Sahibzada Faisal Khurshid said the varsity had written a letter to the department to explain the BS (Honours) programme plan and the meaning of attachment. He said the university had either affiliated or constituent colleges and there was no definition of attached colleges in the GCU charter. He said that he had also sent a reminder to the department in this regard.

Mr Khurshid said the university was seeking detailed information about the BS (Honours) courses, faculty, students’ admission, examination system and other related issues because it was the matter of students’ future.

However, sources in the higher education department said that the GCU administration was making lame excuses instead of coming on board and taking the plan as a challenge to promote the cause of education in the province. They said the GCU administration had also told the department that it would take up the attachment matter with its Syndicate. The sources said it was using delaying tactics because it did not want to affiliate the Government College of Science, Wahdat Road, which might affect its ranking in the country. They said the GCU was also reluctant to attach or affiliate this college as it was hub of the Islami Jamiat Tulaba activists.

When contacted, higher education secretary Ahad Khan Cheema confirmed the Government College of Science had been withdrawn from the GCU and attached with the Punjab University.

The Punjab University had now got six colleges attached for the launch of four-year BS (Honours) programme. The University of Gujrat and Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, also have six attached colleges each.

Besides, two colleges each have been attached with the Lahore College for Women University; Islamia University, Bahawalpur; University of Sargodha and Government College University, Faisalabad. Dawn

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