Peshawar  -  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher Education Meena Khan Afridi has said that the provincial government is making sincere efforts to promote higher education, and his visits to various colleges and universities are a step in this direction.

His visits across the province aim to raise awareness about the issues facing colleges and universities, and to take concrete steps toward addressing them, he added.

He expressed these views during a briefing at the Government Post Graduate College in Karak, where he was briefed about the colleges in the district. Earlier, he had also received a detailed briefing at Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak.

On the occasion, Provincial Minister for Agriculture Major (R) Muhammad Sajjad Barakwal, Shahid Khattak MNA, Chairman DDAC Karak Khurshid Ahmed Khattak, the party’s district leadership, and the principals of male and female colleges were also present.

The minister was informed about the performance of six male colleges, four female colleges, and a commerce college in Karak district.

Meena Khan emphasized that there can be no compromise on the quality of education and teacher attendance, adding that teachers must perform to the best of their ability.

He expressed deep regret that, despite the presence of PhD-qualified and highly experienced teachers in government colleges, their performance is lacking compared to private colleges. He noted that private educational institutions do not have the same level of qualified manpower as government institutions.

Regarding the transfer policy, the provincial minister said that transfers must be purely merit-based. He stressed that there is no room for disobedience regarding transfer orders, and that anyone failing to comply would face consequences.

On the issue of electricity shortages in colleges, he acknowledged that this is a widespread problem across the province.

To address this, he stated that the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had already launched a Solarization Project worth Rs. 20 billion, which will resolve the electricity issues for all educational institutions, including government offices.

The education minister resolved most of the minor issues on the spot through the mutual cooperation of the elected local leadership of Karak District, while directing that other issues be submitted in the form of a formal summary.