Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak ordered to raise the standard of the district headquarters level public sector degree colleges and convert them into modern model colleges. He also approved establishment of 16 new degree colleges at an estimated cost of five billion rupees in various districts of the province and asked the relevant authorities to immediately start execution of the project of new colleges under one umbrella schemes.
The Chief Minister also directed to spend the gas royalty revenue on drinking water, supply of Sui gas to domestic consumers and higher education schemes in the oil and gas producing districts only. He issued these orders while presiding over two separate meetings regarding establishment of new colleges and development schemes of gas producing areas in the southern districts.
The meetings held at CM Secretariat Friday was also attended by the Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Higher Education and Information, Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani, Secretary Higher Education, Commissioner Kohat Division, General Manager Sui Northern Gas Pipeline and other certain officers The Chief Minister reviewed 19 proposed colleges and while terming 16 colleges feasible directed the relevant authorities to initiate construction of the colleges. The new colleges approved by the Chief Minister include 10 for girls and six for boys and they will be set-up in Swat, Upper Dir, Lower Dir, Abbottabad, Peshawar, Chitral, Buner, Nowshera, D.I.Khan, Mardan, Lakki Marwat and Charsadda districts.
The Chief Minister advised the department to strictly follow the present provincial government's policy for establishing new colleges under uniformed design, standard, facilities and accommodation.Regarding development schemes of gas producing southern districts the Chief Minister Pervez Khattak directed to give priority to supply of Sui Gas, public health and higher education schemes in the surrounding areas where natural gas producing fields are situated so that long standing demands of the population of such areas could be fulfilled. He said that sufficient funds received by the provincial government on account of the gas royalty would be made available for these schemes. He also directed the divisional administration of Kohat to form district level committees comprising local MPAs, District Nazim, Deputy Commissioner and representatives of SNGPL to identify schemes by mutual consultation. He said these committees should also convince the gas consumers to their pay gas bills.