HEC approves Rs 481.28 million for Punjab University's PC-1 project

Higher Education Commission (HEC) has approved Rs 481.28 million for Punjab University's PC-1 project for strengthening and up gradation of its departments.
This project is a part of the overall vision of 10-year plan 2001-2011. The university's Vice Chancellor Arshad Mahmood presented the report in Central Development Working Party (CDWP) of Planning Commission.
Arshad maintained that higher education opportunities are essential for the growth and development of a country. He added that the government's education policy is aimed at keeping pace with technologically developed countries by encouraging the enhancement of universities in terms of capacity building, opening of new market-oriented disciplines, strengthening of existing infrastructure like research facilities, up-to-date labs, upgraded essential facilities like network, communication facilities, and computerisation. He said the continuous efforts to increase the budget for HEC would bring revolution in the higher education.
This will eventually lead to raise the standards of university. Under this project, the PU would develop new infrastructure to support the vision of the university, he added. "The project is phased into faculty/staff and infrastructure development. Faculty/staff development broadly defines the capacity building of existing and new faculty/staff," he said.
About objectives of the project preferably in quantitative terms, he said enrolment will increase from 3,000 to 5,000 after completion of the project, faculty will increase from 120 to 250, new constructed area will be 126,000 Sq. Ft., 32 faculty and staff members will be sent abroad for Ph.D.
The project will ensure financial autonomy through resource mobilisation, inter-disciplinary approach in teaching and research, quality assurance through monitoring, peer review and accreditation, improvement in curricula, collaboration with public/private and national/international organisations and expansion in co-curricular activities.
The university's Director Planning and Development Muhammad Azhar Naeem said that Rs 192 million would be spent on faculty and staff development, Rs 126.73 million on civil works, Rs 134.8 million on equipment, Rs 12.5 million on library books and journals etc, Rs 7.26 million on furniture and fixture, Rs 3.92 million on vehicles, Rs 2.02 million on project execution staff and Rs 2.05 million on contingency/miscellaneous etc.