LAHORE -
Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister and Old Ravian Najam Sethi on Saturday laid the foundation stone of the new campus of the Government College University Lahore at Kala Shah Kaku and announced a grant of Rs 100 million for the initial infrastructural development of the 370-acres campus that would impart education to 60,000 students after completion.
“It’s a historical year. We are laying a foundation stone of the new campus in the 150th year of the establishment of the Government College Lahore that produced thousands of legends for Pakistan,” said GCU Vice Chancellor Dr Khaleequr Rahman while giving briefing to the CM about the master plan of the new campus.
Prof Rahman told the CM that the university had plans to introduce cutting-edge technologies and modern disciplines that would meet the needs of the modern world in next 50 years.
He said that the GCU’s new campus would have 11 academic blocks, hostels, modern library, high-tech laboratories, museum, mosque, watch towers, workshops, medical centre, cafeteria, open-air theatre, auditorium with the sitting capacity of 3,500, high school for staff children, day care centre, shopping centre, students’ service centre and filed laboratories.
He said that extensive sports facilities would also be established on the new campus including cricket ground, football ground, tennis and badminton courts, hockey ground, swimming pool and gymnasium. He said staff and faculty residences would also be built on the campus besides green houses and parks.
The CM revealed that almost Rs 4.79 billion was required for the complete development of the campus. However, he said, it would be opened for almost 8,000 students after the completion of Phase-I development.
“I hope Higher Education Commission and federal and provincial governments would provide continuous support for the construction of the new campus,” he added.
Addressing the ceremony, Punjab caretaker CM Najam Sethi said that extremism, terrorism and lawlessness could only be curbed through promotion of education in the country. He laid stress on investment in education sector and no amount of funds was too much to equip the youth with modern education.