Financial, administrative autonomy awarded: colleges won't be privatised: Minister

Minister for Education Punjab, Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said that colleges will never be privatised only financial and administrative autonomy is being awarded to 26 colleges where four-year bachelor degree programme is being introduced from this year.
Prestigious educational institutions are our national assets and brilliant chapters of our cultural history, he said while talking to a delegation of Muslim League workers on Sunday at his residence. The minister said that these steps have been taken to bridge the gap between the universities and the colleges. He said that 26 colleges would be managed by the board of governors, which would comprise of 12 to 13 members including six officials and chosen members from local philanthropists including industrialists, social workers and educationists.
He further said that the board of governors will not be authorised to increase any fee structure, as additional expenditure would be born by the Punjab government which would provide Rs 500 million additional grant to these colleges annually for providing quality education to students. The minister said that present fee structure would remain unchanged and every college would be provided a grant of Rs 20 million per year. These colleges will revamp their course outline according to the marketing needs and requirements and students would also be trained in information technology to equip themselves with the change requirements of the modern world.
The minister observed that the purpose of this initiative was to bring the level of degrees of these colleges equivalent to the level of the universities and enhance the opportunity for the students to get higher education at affordable fees.