Rs260 million to be spent on OPF university

Islamabad The Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF) on Friday organised the groundbreaking ceremony for its college/university here in F-11/2 sector for the children of Overseas Pakistanis at the cost of Rs260 million, saying the building will be in place within two years.

Addressing the foundation stone laying ceremony, Secretary of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Dr Muhammad Hashim Popalzai said the college/university project would be constructed at more than four acres and would have 72 classrooms, five laboratories and one auditorium with the capacity to educate more than 2,400 students.

He said the children of overseas Pakistanis to get their very own degree awarding institute in capital and OPF as a landmark initiative had announced the set up of a degree awarding institution in the heart of the federal capital.

He said the facility had been planned in line with the international standards set by the Higher Education Commission exceeding the benchmarks of any quality institution not just in terms of amenities but also in results.

Managing Director of OPF Aamir Sheikh said the foundation through the initiative vowed to offer the children of overseas Pakistanis and general public at large to pursue the best possible educational facilities in the fields of business administration, management, computer science, media studies, etc.

While extending its service portfolio, the OPF college/university will provide state of the art class rooms, libraries, laboratories, hostels and extracurricular facilities in order to ensure a high standard of education in Pakistan, he said.

In pursuance of its commitment to provide quality education to the children of Overseas Pakistanis, OPF is currently operating 24 education institutions have enrolled 18,000 students across Pakistan.

He said those institutions delivered a fair standard of education and the children of overseas Pakistanis were enjoying a discount of 50% in tuition fee and scholarships are being offered to the bright students.

"Our education system is embedded with such a curriculum and mentoring that not only it focuses on educating children but also their character building," he said.

The OPF managing director said the foundation was established in 1979 to look after the interest of overseas Pakistanis and their dependents.

"We have launched a number of projects and welfare schemes to provide relief to overseas Pakistanis and their dependents.

The main objective of the OPF is to provide welfare services to the Overseas Pakistanis through quality initiatives especially in the areas of education, health, housing and financial benefits like death and disability compensation," he said.