RAWALPINDI –Â The civil society would stage a protest demonstration and sit-in soon outside Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Office against delay in commencing regular classes at two degree colleges in Dhoke Syedan.
This was stated by Syed Kausar Abbas, Programme Manager of Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) while addressing media persons here on Tuesday.
He said that despite staging protests, holding meetings and writing letters to the government of Punjab, MNAs, MPAs and Commissioner Rawalpindi during last five years, the government failed to start classes in both degree colleges of Dhoke Syedan. He said that the project of two degree colleges in Dhoke Syedan was started in 2007 by the then Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi but the N-league government has not been able to start the classes in both the colleges for the last six years. Kausar Abbas said that Rs 42 million were spent on these buildings in the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09 but later on the PML-N government stopped funds for these colleges due to political rivalry with PML-Q.
He said that these colleges were located at the boundary of two National Assembly Constituencies NA-52 and NA-54. These constituencies belong to Federal Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Malik Abrar Ahmad. Both the elected representatives have been approached a number of times during the last six years but they always made fake commitments.
Kausar Abbas said that after taking oath Malik Abrar Ahmad committed in a public forum organised by CPDI that the colleges would be started by end of the year but they have not started working on these colleges yet. He said that the Punjab government has spent billions of rupees on Danish Schools and laptops during last five years but they always said that they do not have resources to complete these two colleges.
He further told that these were the only colleges of NA-52 and NA-54 and the students do not have the opportunity to get access to higher education in their own area. The students have to travel long distance to Rawalpindi city or Islamabad to get education. “We have started a door-to-door campaign to muster public support to make the protest demo and sit-in successful and force the government to start classes in the colleges, Abbas added.
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