Times Report
PESHAWAR: A meeting of the Standing Committee of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Higher Education, Archives and Libraries Department was held on Monday at the Provincial Assembly Secretariat, Peshawar. The meeting was chaired by the Chairman of the Committee and Member Provincial Assembly, Anwar Khan. Members of the Standing Committee and Members of the Provincial Assembly Abdul Muneem, Ahmed Kundi, Iftikhar Ali Mashwani, Makhdoomzada Muhammad Aftab, and Ms. Rehana Ismail, along with Nisar Baz and Muhammad Arif, attended the meeting. The Special Secretary Higher Education along with the relevant staff, as well as officers from the Law Department, Finance Department, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly, were also present.
During the meeting, several important matters were discussed. The Committee reviewed in detail the progress made by the Higher Education Department on the directives issued in the meeting held on 23 April 2025. The Special Secretary Higher Education informed the Committee that the former FATA was merged into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2014; therefore, in the light of the Supreme Court’s orders, 112 male and 96 female lecturers will be regularized with effect from 26 May 2014 after approval of a bill by the Assembly. The Committee directed the Department that, in future, teaching posts should be filled through the Public Service Commission instead of on an ad hoc basis.
The meeting also discussed the issue raised by Muhammad Arif Zai regarding 1,400 kanals of land located at Mamokhatki, which was purchased by the provincial government in 2008 for the Higher Education Commission and was subsequently leased out annually for cultivation on a one-year basis. The Standing Committee unanimously decided that if the lease period has expired, the land should be taken back into government possession immediately, and a comprehensive report in this regard should be submitted to the Chairman of the Committee by 10 January 2026. The Committee further directed that the land be utilized strictly for the purpose for which it was originally acquired, i.e., for the Higher Education Commission.
Furthermore, the Standing Committee issued directives to the Higher Education Department to introduce BS male and female classes in colleges and universities located in remote areas of the province, including Bajaur, Upper Chitral, Upper Dir, Takht Bhai, Karak, and other districts. The Committee also directed that appropriate transport arrangements be made for students to facilitate access to education, so that the people of these areas may also benefit from quality educational facilities comparable to those available in developed districts.
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