ISLAMABAD: The Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) has abandoned the plan to allocate a piece of land to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) following the refusal of the Syndicate meeting to approve the proposal.
The Syndicate of the university that consists of university faculty, Higher Education Commission representatives, politicians and judges met to decide various issues of the university Thursday.
The PIDE via a letter had requested the university to allocate land measuring 15-16 acres to PIDE within the QAU for construction of PIDE’s new campus. The proposal had disquieted the teaching faculty and non-academic staff and a signature drive was also initiated against the proposal. Around 150 staffers had signed the petition opposing the idea that was distributed among the Syndicate members on their arrival at the campus Thursday.
According to one of the members of the meeting, the Syndicate discussed the issue at length and majority of the members opposed to selling the land to the institute. All the members except university Vice Chancellor, two faculty members and Chairman HEC Mukhtar Ahmad took a stand against the idea. Senator Farhatullah Babar and Mahreen Raja of PPP also spoke against the land allocation move.
PIDE, which is an independent institute already established at QAU campus, falls under the Ministry of Planning and Development. QAU VC Dr Javed Ashraf confirmed the decision saying it was a consensus to shelve the plan. The meeting will continue to discuss other agenda items, including the promotion board of teachers that are pending for the last few years.
The meeting had various agenda items and of them many are left to discuss so the Syndicate has been reconvened again on May 5, said the Vice Chancellor Dr. Javed Ashraf.
