SIALKOT
The Government College Women University Sialkot has been faced with a number of problems since the day it got the status of an autonomous university two years ago as the government has not allocated any funds nor provided it with varsity-level infrastructure and faculty, its vice chancellor said.
Earlier, it was known as Govt Postgraduate College for Women. The vice chancellor who has recently assumed the charge has to face great challenges including the recognition of the university by the Higher Education Commission, ensuring availability of funds, recruitments of teachers and other staff, and provision of basic infrastructure.
The vice chancellor said that Federal Minister for Defence, Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif had promised to ensure early provision of the needed funds, faculty and basic infrastructure but the promise was yet to be honoured. She said that it would become a prestigious university within six months if the needed funds, staff and facilities were provided. Dr Farhat Saleemi said that the university was faced with a great challenge of its recognition from the HEC as it had given a deadline of one month to improve its basic infrastructure and faculties for this purpose. She added that the varsity had been facing those problems since its establishment. She said, “We want to hire PhD teachers but we have no funds for their salaries, as the government has not allocated any fund for the purpose. This university direly needs Rs15 million annually for the salaries of the senior teachers to be hired soon.”
She said that it needed a master planning to ensure maximum and proper use of the university land and premises. “We have no start-up money, we also want urgent master planning,” she added. The VC said that the recently built new classrooms and chemistry laboratory buildings were in a shambles, as big cracks have already appeared in the walls, floors and roofs due to the use of substandard material. She said that two years ago, these buildings were constructed under the supervision of NLC.
She added that no basic facilities have yet been provided in its laboratory, which lacks all the science experimental instruments, water taps, light, gas and other related items. She said that also the laboratory was in dilapidated condition. She said that Rs5 million was direly needed to establish a well equipped science laboratory that is direly needed. The VC said that owing to the two-year long negligence of the officials concerned, there was big heaps of trash which was causing serious environmental pollution with oozing ill smell in the university. She urged the district administration and the Sialkot Waste Management Company to ensure early removal of these trash heaps. Its sewerage system had also been clogged due to which the sewerage water was spreading everywhere there, she said. She revealed that it also needed early renovation, white wash and repairing of all the blocks.
She also stressed a need Rs15 million for provision of books and journals at the library. “Early white washing and renovation could give it a university look,” she said, pledging not to leave any stone unturned for making it a prestigious university. She sought active cooperation of the  public and the Sialkot business community for donation of funds to get it stood on its own feet. She said that the business community had set several unique examples of self-help by establishing several mega projects. She said that Sialkot business community should also come forward to play their pivotal role to donate funds to the university.