KOHAT, Sept 21: Provincial Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has ordered the administration of Kohat University of Science and Technology to decrease the admission fee from Rs19,000 to Rs15,000.

He issued the order during a briefing given to the governor on his visit to the institution, said an official statement issued here on Sunday.

The governor also directed the university administration to hire qualified teaching staff, saying that efforts should continue to introduce modern disciplines in the institution.

New universities, he said, were established on the cost-sharing basis and since their resources were enhanced to a reasonable extent, they must facilitate education to the masses.

Referring to a point, the governor urged the administration to keep opportunities open for the existing teaching staff to acquire higher education abroad. He also stressed that a job security system should be ensured to help the teaching staff continue their services with peace of mind.

On a point, he desired to identify a suitable site in the remote areas of Bannu or the adjoining tribal agency for the establishment of a medicinal plant nursery on the lines of Shiringal campus of Malakand University.

The governor was told during the briefing that services of a popular firm had been hired for the preparation of a master plan for the university while work on the construction of seven additional classrooms was at the stage of completion.

He was also informed that efforts were under way to introduce the disciplines of microbiology, biochemistry, genetics, energy, MLT, M.Com and English.

MPA Syed Qalbe Hassan, secretary to governor Sahibzada Saeed Ahmad and Fata secretary Brig Mehmood Shah also attended the briefing.

BOARDS’ BUILDING: The governor have also visited the under-construction building of the board of intermediate and secondary education, Kohat.

Speaking to the officials concerned, he stressed the need for ensuring quality of work on the buildings of the boards of intermediate and secondary education in different areas of the province.

COOPERATION: The DIG of Kohat region, Ghulam Mohammad, has stressed on creating closer cooperation between the public and the police to change the  existing Thana culture and check corruption  in  the department, hoping that public safety committees would improve police efficiency and its attitude towards the public.

Speaking at a meeting of  Nazims, representatives of business community, elders of the area and members of the public safety committee here on Wednesday, he said that it was necessary to establish an environment of trust between the police and the people to get the desired results from the new police act 2002 under which the public safety committees had been assigned the task to act as a check on the working of police.

He said that now it was the responsibility of the members of the public safety committees to enforce the guidelines and duties of the police under this act and point out the problem areas.

He expressed optimism that under the new reforms the people would get relief, whereas the performance of the police would also improve as the public representatives were in a position to check the unlawful activities in the society.

The SSP Abid Ali, Nazims and elders of the area also addressed the meeting.