MIANWALI is home to Chashma Nuclear Power Plant where highly qualified engineers and technical manpower live with their families in various colonies located nearby. The city, unfortunately, does not have many universities where students can acquire higher education. As a result, families living here owing to such an employment or the local ones at large are left with very few options.

Many parents are compelled to send their children to Lahore or Islamabad for higher education, and have to bear the additional cost of hostel and travelling. The pressing economic situation and high inflation has made life difficult for the salaried class as well as the masses. To add to their woes, the Covid-19 pandemic has added to the people’s miseries.

Mianwali district should be given the status of ‘knowledge city’, and sub-campuses of leading universities based in Islamabad and elsewhere should be set up here. Proper buildings and place should be allocated for this purpose so that the students may benefit directly from these educational facilities without incurring additional expenses. These facilities will also be beneficial for students living in the adjoining areas of southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Moreover, different academies should be set up for students who need guidance and tutoring for entrance test for admission to institutions of higher learning. Also, medical colleges should be established in the area.

Shagufta Ansari

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2020