SAHIWAL: The Higher Education Department (HED) has notified the merger of 45 commerce colleges into nearby general public sector colleges across 31 districts and tehsils of Punjab.

Sources close to the situation claim the decision has been taken due to declining number of admissions in commerce fields as students increasingly opt for other market-related subjects like information technology. This move will affect over 400 teachers who will be shifted to general education colleges.

According to sources, most of 45 commerce colleges are currently operating in rented buildings, and the merger aims to reduce expenses by consolidating them into general education institutions.

Mirza Javed, President, Commerce Professor-Lecturer Association (CPLA), noted that 24 of these colleges operate in rented buildings while 21 are working in government buildings. The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn, formalizes the instructions.

Notification issued

Interestingly, a week prior to the notification, principals of the 45 commerce colleges received verbal directives via social media from the HED officials to halt fresh first-year admissions for the academic calendar 2024-26.

Initially, dismissed as “fake news” by many principals, the recent letter has confirmed these directives. In the same manner earlier, DPI colleges had issued a notification announcing the merging of 10 leading commerce colleges into general education colleges at divisional headquarters, but the HED retracted the notification following media backlash, citing a misunderstanding of directions by DPI (C) -- a claim denied by the high-ups of DPI colleges in their private conversations. The HED’s recent notification of 45 colleges again referred to DPI (C) letter.

Among the 45 colleges, eight are women’s colleges which will now be merged into nearby women’s general education colleges.

Mirza Javed expressed concern over the impact of this move on more than 400 commerce teachers, arguing that the policy effectively abolishes commerce education in Punjab due to the HED and TEVTA’s mismanagement.

He said this idea was first floated by TEVTA in 1999 and later by HED in 2012.

Rana Ashfaq, President of the Commerce Teacher Alliance, opposed the move.

The districts affected by this merger include Chiniot, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Faisalabad, Khanewal, Nankana Sahib, Multan, Attock, Chakwal, Jhang, Hafizabad, Narowal, Sialkot, Lahore, Rajanpur.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2024