SIALKOT
The shortage of seats for admissions of students in the few government colleges has worried the poor, who are unable to get their children admitted to the private colleges because of their heavy fees, it is learnt.
It is feared that the thousands of students, who recently passed matriculation examinations, would remain unable to get admissions to government colleges due to shortage of government colleges in Sialkot region.
As many as 115,000 candidates have passed matriculation exams this year from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Gujranwala. However, the number of government colleges is only 107 in the division. The government colleges have set 600 marks as merit for getting admission there in intermediate classes. Due to the merit, the students would have to move towards the private colleges for getting admission.
According to the officials of Sialkot Education Department, there are 22 government colleges in Sialkot district, 12 in Narowal district, 6 in Hafizabad district, 12 in Mandi Bahauddin district and 20 government colleges are in Gujrat district. A large number of students were submitting admission forms. These government colleges have fixed the separate merit parameters for getting  admission in FSc, F/A, I.Com and ICS.
The students not falling on merit will remain deprived of admissions to the government colleges, having no other option to move to the private colleges for their admission by bearing the very high and unbearable fees.
Meanwhile, Gujranwala Division Director Colleges Ghulam Sarwar Sipra said that the Punjab government had taken very serious notice of the situation. He said that the government had approved a programme of starting night shifts of intermediate classes in all the government colleges in Gujranwala Division.
He said that the department would hire teachers and educational experts for teaching in the second shift classes, as the provincial government would pay them Rs300 per period in intermediate classes and Rs500 per period in graduation classes there, while the regular teachers could also teach in the second shift classes on the package there. He said that all the necessary arrangements have been made to start the second shift classes in the government colleges in Gujranwala Division.