NA panel passes Islamabad Women University Bill

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Federal Education, Professional Training, National Heritage and Culture on Tuesday unanimously recommended to approve ?The Islamabad Women University Bill, 2021? earlier passed by the Senate and moved by Ali Nawaz Awan, MNA.

The bill was passed during the 22nd meeting held on Tuesday in the Committee Room of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, under the chairmanship of Mian Najeeb Ud Din Awaisi, MNA.

The MNA/Mover, Ali Nawaz Awan, briefed the committee that keeping in view of religious and social context as well as the increasing population potential of women folk in the federal capital, it required a separate women university.

He said that the government has also announced to establish the First Women University in the Post Graduate College for Women, F-7/2. He added that through this bill, the government can materialise its manifesto of providing easy and quality education to girls. After detailed deliberations, the committee unanimously recommended to approve the said bill.

The committee also recommended to approve ?The International Institute of Science, Arts and Technology Bill, 2021?, moved by Amjid Ali Khan, MNA.The committee deferred ?The Iqbal Academy Pakistan Bill, 2021? (Government Bill) and ?The NCS-Institute of Sciences Bill, 2021?, moved by James Iqbal, MNA, till its next meeting.

Later, the ministry stated that ?The Pakistan Institute of Education Bill, 2021? (Government Bill) had been withdrawn.While briefing the panel, the Vice Chancellor, Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, stated that the university ranked at No1 by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and 378th in the world by the QS World University Rankings 2022. Whereas, the university has also been ranked among the top 100 leading universities of Asia.

He added that the university was going to establish a Department of Sports Sciences as per the instructions of the prime minister and also establish a Department of Media Studies.Further, the university signed almost 70 MoUs with different national and international academic, research institutions, and corporate entities. The committee appreciated the performance and achievements of the university to improve the proficiency of the institution.