SAHIWAL: The Higher Education Department (HED) is working on a plan to merge 10 graduate commerce colleges located in different cities of Punjab into the nearest general cadre graduate colleges for curtailing expenses.

The HED plans to relocate staff and students to the nearest graduate colleges.

The colleges under consideration for this merger include one commerce college each from Bahawalpur, DG Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, and Sahiwal, and two colleges from Lahore.

Sources say the directorate of colleges in the nine divisions mentioned above has been assigned the task of working on the proposal.

Reports say the principal of Government Graduate College Sahiwal has been asked for his opinion on merging the Government Graduate Commerce College into his institution. Sources say the merger would involve transferring students, staff, and all administrative set-ups into general graduate colleges.

It merits mentioning that a few years ago, commerce colleges were delinked from Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) and merged into the HED. More than 50 commerce colleges were merged into

HED’s administrative set-up.

This is the second move to merge these colleges into general cadre graduate colleges.

Many in HED see this as a rationalisation similar to what was done in the school education department.

Sources say commerce colleges have low strength of students and high administrative costs, prompting HED to consider their merger into graduate colleges.

The colleges include Government Sadiq Graduate College of Commerce, Bahawalpur; Government Graduate College of Commerce, D.G. Khan; Government Graduate College of Commerce, People’s Colony, Gujranwala; Government Graduate College of Commerce, People’s Colony, Faisalabad; Government Graduate College of Commerce, Rawalpindi; Government Graduate College of Commerce, Sahiwal; Government Graduate College of Commerce, Qasimpur Colony, Multan; Government Graduate College of Commerce, Hunza Block, Allama Iqbal Town; and Government Associate College of Commerce, Township, Lahore.

Government Graduate College Sahiwal Principal Prof. Dr. Mumtaz Ahmed told Dawn that they are logically and administratively considering their own space, classrooms, and administrative set-ups while working on the proposal.

STRIKE: Doctors and paramedics continued their strike at Sahiwal Teaching Hospital on Thursday.

Hospital’s former MS Mahboob Akhtar, principal Prof Dr Imran Hasan, heads of different departments and senior faculty members joined the protest camp in front of the Surgical Tower.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2024