LAHORE - The Punjab government has closed down 61-year-old College of Physical Education for boys, Gulberg by converting it into a general education college by transferring the entire teaching staff of physical education to different colleges in the city. The only physical education college for girls, Township has also been converted into general education on the lines of boys college. It is irony of the fate that the government on one hand wanted to proliferate physical education and on the other banished the two physical education colleges for boys and girls in the province. The boys' college functioning near Qaddafi Stadium has been converted into Government College for Boys, Gulberg for general education. Meanwhile the federal ministry of education, curriculum wing has introduced physical education as part of curriculum from 6th to 12th classes and necessary syllabus to this effect has also been prepared for next academic year starting from September. The syllabus included both theory and practice. Paradoxically, however, due to lack of coordination between the federal and provincial government or the mere ignorance on the part of policy planners, the only colleges of physical education here have been closed down. The Punjab government has issued notification to close down the classes of MA Physical Education and there will be no class of physical education from the next year. The historic boys college was set up in 1948 and was named College of Physical Education and Scouting and was inaugurated by Father of the Nation Quaid-e-Azam Mohammasd Ali Jinnah This was the first and only professional physical education institution which offered the senior diploma, a postgraduate course after graduation and junior diploma, a one year course after matriculation. The directors of physical education in colleges were qualified in senior diploma course while PTIs in schools were qualified in junior diploma course. The college was first housed in Walton and was shifted to Gulberg in 1962 near Qaddafi stadium. In 1981-82, the college introduced MA in Physical Education with affiliation of University of Punjab with the enrolment of 40 students in Part I and the same number in Part II. The junior diploma with minimum Matriculation qualification was converted into Intermediate as minimum qualification. The boys' college consisted of two assistant professors and 16 lecturers. The college was headed by a principal who possessed degree of MA in History. Perhaps this was the reason that he preferred to become instrument to convert the college into a general education college as he had no interest in the physical education nor did the aptitude or awareness on the significance of physical education. There are 435 general education colleges in the province. These colleges produced manpower of teachers of physical education in these colleges for the promotion of sports and athletics. The teachers who were transferred and posted elsewhere were Shafqat Rasool and Javed Akhtar, Qamar Waheed Khan, Amanat Ali Shakir, Azmat Ali, Aslam Hayat Wattoo and Shahid Nazir.