HEC committee discusses Kamyab Jawan Sports Academies plans

KARACHI: The first meeting of the steering committee of Kamyab Jawan Sports Academies programme and National Youth Games was held at the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Secretariat in Islamabad.

It was chaired by the HEC Executive Director Dr Shaista Sohail, 'The News' learnt on Saturday.

She briefed the participants on the projects planned under the umbrella of Kamyab Jawan programme. She said that the project was aimed at developing facilities and infrastructure of sports academies, including a lecture/meeting hall and hostel/dormitory facility for 50 to 60 players and six members of the coaching/support staff.

She emphasised that the long-term objective was to develop HEC’s teams to compete at national and international competitions.

Dr Shaista said that the project would produce professional players. The sports academies to be established in the higher education institutions across the country will provide scientific support and modern skills to players for developing sports in Pakistan.

She said that the capital cost of the project was Rs1.937 billion and the execution period of the scheme was 36 months.

She said that the sports academies would provide opportunities to youth to get involved in physical activities as professional players, coaches, leaders, and volunteers.

The meeting participants discussed a project implementation strategy and reflected upon development of a governance and business model for the sports academies. The committee endorsed the meeting agenda item pertaining to holding an International Conference on Sports Tourism by Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan in June 2022.

It is pertinent to mention here that the HEC and higher education institutions where the sports academies are to be established will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the academies. HEC expects the higher education institutions to earmark land for the establishment of sports academies, develop robust governance and business plans, and create funds for sports activities.

The universities will also be expected to carry out proper marketing by formulating branding strategies for revenue generation. The designated higher education institutions will hire/allocate professional human resources to run the sports academies.

Another important segment of the project is the National Youth Games. In this regard, organising sub-committees will be constituted to be responsible for all operational matters of the games for the timely and orderly arrangement of all events.

The meeting was attended in person or through video link by vice chancellors of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan; University of the Punjab, Lahore; Bahauddin Zakriya University, Multan; University of Karachi; Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam; Karakoram International University, Gilgit Baltistan; University of Agriculture, Faisalabad; BUITEMS, Quetta; NED UET, Karachi; Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Karachi; and University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore; a representative of University of Peshawar; and vice president of International Islamic University, Islamabad.

The others who attended the meeting included Pakistan Sports Board's Shahid Islam, HEC's Awais Ahmed, Javed Ali Memon, and Naveed Shah.