Rs3.5m donated for mosque on GCU premises

LAHORE : Government College University Lahore faculty and other staff on Friday initially donated Rs3.5 million as Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi opened fundraising for the construction of a grand mosque on the main campus.

According to a press release, the fundraising campaign was started during the weekly Durs-e-Quran session where the university staff and faculty unanimously decided to construct the mosque but also made initial donations for the mosque.

The VC made the first donation for the mosque and then others.

The VC said a small gathering of faculty and staff members present in the auditorium donated Rs3.5 million. He said now the fundraising campaign was being opened to all students, faculty and staff of the university.

He hoped funds of Rs 100 million would be generated for the mosque from within GCU by December 31, 2021. He said the mosque would be constructed in the next year.

The VC said a female faculty member donated savings of her wedding expenses, while many donated in the name of their deceased family members. He said some faculty members also announced perpetual donations for the mosque on a monthly basis.

Prof Zaidi said all donations would be submitted in the official bank account of GCU to be audited by the external auditors.

Earlier, Prof Zaidi said a mosque was much more a place of offering prayers in Islam and highlighted its critical and authoritative role in the social and cultural life of Muslims. He said that they would make GCU mosque the centre of all activities in their campus life.

He said they would put every possible effort to make the GCU mosque an effective institution and agent for community transformation. He said GCU now housed more than 2,000 faculty and staff members and 15,000 students so they needed a grand mosque to overcome space challenges during prayers.

Teachers’ training: A three-day teachers' training under the Faculty Development Programme on “Countering Violent Extremism, Leadership & Critical Thinking for Selected Faculty Members” concluded at the Punjab University on Friday. According to a press release, more than 20 faculty members attended the training programme which focused on improvisation of teaching skills in the classroom settings by inculcating creativity, critical thinking, tolerance and leadership among students.

The focal person Dr Altaf Ullah Khan, Dean Faculty of Humanities, FC College and Director PU Institute of Applied Psychology, Prof Dr Rafia Rafique shared objectives of the project.