Punjab government has decided to lease out the Workers Welfare Board's (WWB) building situated on Raiwind Road for 99 years to COMSATS Institute of Information and Technology as recognition of its services in the field of Information Technology. This was disclosed by the Minister Labour & Human Resource Punjab Raja Ashfaq Sarwar in joint meeting of Labour & Education Departments and senior management of COMSATS.
Minister for Education Rana Mashhood, Secretary Labour & Human Resource Captain (R) Muhammad Yusaf, Secretary Education Farhan Aziz Khawaja, Rector COMSATS Dr SM Junaid Zaidi, Director COMSATS Dr Mehmood A Bodla and others Advisor COMSATS Khawaja Sohail Safdar and Additional Registrar COMSATS Rashid Ahmad Khan also attended the meeting. Final decision, however, will be taken in the Board Meeting of Workers Welfare Fund, said the Minister.
According to lease agreement, COMSATS will reserve 30 percent seats for the children of labourers in each business and also provide hostel facilities to them free of cost however COMSATS will contribute 30% amount of mess expenditure for the students from labour class. Under Duel Degree Programme, admissions of such students will be ensured in Lancaster University, a well reputed university of United Kingdom. Workers welfare Board will bear fee amount of the students which is $500 each while COMSATS will contribute 30 percent of expenditure incurred during foreign studies, says lease agreement. It was decided in the meeting that representation of the Labour Department in the affairs of admission and decision making process will be ensured.
Punjab Minister for Labour & Human Resource, Raja Ashfaq Sarwar said that COMSATS has been declared one of the best institutions in the field of Information Technology and its performance is evident from its results. Thousands of children of the labourers are serving in the different parts of the world after completing their studies from COMSATS. Our labourers have unique skills and so their children that why when they are given a chance to groom up, they have amazed the people by their performance and results. The minister announced to arrange functions in the honour of passing out students of labour class every year at the time of annual results.