Appoint focal persons to make campuses drug-free: minister

Says recommendations to be presented to chief minister soon

LAHORE

Punjab School Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan has said that educational institutions should appoint focal persons with regard to the steps against narcotics use and directed that a comprehensive line of action should be developed in two weeks.

Rana Mashhood chaired the meeting of the special committee set up by the Punjab government to recommend proposals for keeping the educational institutions safe from narcotics at the committee room of School Education Department here on Thursday.

Schools Secretary Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik, Anti-Narcotics Punjab Force Commander Khalid Mehmood Goraya, Punjab DIG Operations  Amir Zulfiqar and representatives of Higher Education, Schools Education, Social Welfare and Excise Departments also attended the meeting. 

The meeting pondered different proposals to save educational institutions from drugs and smoking. It agreed that people and the government should have close collaboration for keeping the students safe from drugs. The minister said a comprehensive policy was in the pipeline to make institutions totally drugs-free, and for that purpose recommendations would be presented to the chief minister soon.

He said the owners and administration of educational institutions were being taken into confidence to ensure that drugs were totally banned in the institutions. He asked the focal persons to arrange workshops to guide the students and teachers about the hazards of drugs.

Dr Allah Bakhsh Malik said parents, the media and religious scholars should create a sense of disgust among students about drugs. 

LCWU: Adopting a paper free culture, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) will issue smart cards and computerised roll number slips for examinations to its students. 

According to a press release, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Uzma Qureshi chairing a meeting said LCWU would be developed into a “Smart University” as Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) would provide wi-fi blanket across the campus. This project will extend the existing wireless facilities of the university.

The VC added the university had a total of 14,094 students enrolled and smart cards would help them to obtain vouchers and pay their dues online. Parents will get SMS alert regarding university attendance.

The VC was briefed by controller of examination that through this system computerised roll number slips would save 60 percent energy and time of clerical staff in preparing examination data.

Dr Uzma Qureshi said universities should be role model in adopting technology and innovations. Paper free culture can save resources, she added.