SAHIWAL: Graduation classes will commence from Thursday (today) at the newly-constructed women’s college in the city.

More than 250 girls have got admission to the maiden graduation session of the Government Women College, Farid Town.

Qazi Nasir, the Directorate of Colleges director, hopes the new college will provide quality education and cater to the dire needs of girls and parents who were forced to seek admission to private colleges charging high fees.

The college was constructed on 57 acres adjacent to the Sahiwal Medical College with Rs140 million in the last quarter of 2015. It has 40 classrooms and a capacity of 1,500 students both in intermediate and graduation disciplines.

Posts of 22 teaching staff and 23 clerical staff were sanctioned by the Higher Education Department (HED).

Since the first women’s college being the only public college for women housed 4,000 to 4,500 students in masters, four-year bachelors and intermediate programmes, there was a need for another public sector college for girls.

It will offer both intermediate and two-year graduation programmes.

A source in the directorate office told Dawn that currently more than 2,500 girls were enrolled in graduation programmes in private colleges. It is in this background that local educational authorities and political figures proposed a new public college for women.

Muhammad Bilal Ashraf, deputy director of the Directorate of Colleges, told Dawn that posts of six female teachers had been filled by the education department.

“Six college teaching interns have been appointed to run academic affairs,” he added.

Nasir said the HED additional secretary had promised to fill remaining vacancies of teachers in coming weeks.

Salwat Maqbool, principal of the Harrapa women’s college, has been given additional charge of principal of this new college.

Published in Dawn November 10th, 2016