The Sindh government has stepped up efforts to start 30 new government degree colleges in various regions of the province next year, The News learnt on Saturday.
Fifteen colleges had started operating just before the commencement of the current academic year. However, some of the colleges that are going to be started next year are under construction and has not yet been furnished with essential facilities such as electricity, furniture and clean drinking water.
The provincial education works and services department has therefore not handed over the under construction buildings to the college education department. But college education department has sent a summary for sanctioned new expenditures to the Annual Development Program committee, which is to be held on September 5, 2018.
Two hundred and ninety government colleges are already functioning across the province, including 137 colleges in the Karachi region. After setting up the new colleges, the number of the government colleges will rise to 320.
In the Karachi region, 11 new colleges, including six for girls, will be unfolded: Government Girls Degree College, 11/A North Karachi; Government Degree Boys College, Sector 9-E Baldia Town; Government Degree College, Sharafi Goth at New Singer Chowrangi, Landhi, Korangi; Government Degree College Kamal Khan Jokhio, Gadap Town, Government Degree Boys College at Muzaffarabad Colony in Landhi Town; Government Girls Degree College at Block-N North Nazimabad; Government Degree Science and Arts College, Hijrat Colony, Saddar Town; Government Girls Degree College, Cattle Colony, at Union Committee No 3, Bin Qasim Town; Government Girls Degree College, Gulshan-e-Hadeed; Government Girls Degree College, Darsano Chhano, Super Highway, Karachi; Government Degree College for Women, Korangi No 6.
In the Hyderabad region, four new colleges will be set up on the eve of the new academic year. These colleges are Government Degree College, Tando Bago, Badin; Molvi Abdul Ghafoor Sitaie Government Degree College, Dadu; Government Degree College, Bulri Shah Karim, Tando Muhammad Khan; and Jholay Lal Government Degree College, Odero Lal.
In the Mirpurkhas region, two colleges, Ghulam Muhammad Rahu Government Degree College at Kaloi and Government Degree College at Khemejo Par in the Tharparkar district, will be started next year.
In the Larkana region, four colleges -- Begum Nusrat Bhutto Government Girls Degree College Larkana, Sardar Sohrab Khan Sarki Government Degree College Mubarakpur Jacobabad, Government Degree College Karanpur at Kandh Kot district Kashmore, Government Degree Girls College at Ratodero Larkana -- will be functional in the next academic year.
In the Shaheed Benazirabad region, Government Girls Degree College at Khalidabad Moro in the Naushehroferoze district will be launched in 2018.
In the Sukkar region, eight new colleges, including two for girls, will started. Out of those, three colleges -- Government Degree College Sobho Dero, Government Degree College Kot Diji and Government Degree College Tehri -- will be established in the Khairpur district.
Two colleges, Government Degree College at Saleh Pat and Government Girls Degree College at Pano Akil, will be set up in Sukkar, while Government Girls Degree College at Ubaro and Government Degree College Adil Pur will be opened in the Ghotki district.
Parvez Ahmed Seehar, secretary of the college education department, told The News that the department had almost concluded sanctioned new expenditures (SNE) for the new functioning colleges.
He said that after the bifurcation of the Sindh Education and Literacy Department into the school education and college education departments, it was for the first time that the provincial government was going to launch 45 new colleges in the department, that too in a short period.
He hoped that the new colleges would boost education in the province and thousands of students would be enrolled on their commencement.
Karachi director for colleges Mashooq Baloch said that after matriculation, most of the students commonly faced difficulties, including the difficult procedure for admissions, ranking in merit lists and long distances from their residencies. However, the new colleges would provide convenience to students because they would get help them rid of such stumbling blocks.
