Peshawar
The 10th meeting of the Senate of the University of Swat was held here on Monday with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Khan Gandapur in the chair. Provincial Minister for Higher Education, Meena Khan Afridi, relevant officials from the Higher Education Department, and other Senate members attended the meeting.
Annual Report of the University of Swat for the year 2023-24 was presented in the meeting. The relevant authorities also briefed the meeting about the implementation status of decisions made in previous Senate meetings. The draft of the University of Swat Statutes 2024 was discussed and referred to the relevant committee for further review.
Moreover, the Strategic Plan 2024-30 for the University of Swat was presented. The Chief Minister directed that the plan be sent to the Task Force established in the Higher Education Department for further improvement. He directed to ensure inclusion of all academic departments of all public sector universities in the scholarship programs, adding that the provincial government has significantly increased the scholarship fund to benefit a greater number of students.
The. He emphasized the need to promote disciplines with higher market demand in public universities.
Ali Amin Gandapur instructed that a quota be allocated for university graduates in the business loan schemes under the provincial government’s Ehsaas Rozgar Program, stating that university graduates could benefit more effectively from this scheme.
He also instructed the concerned authorities to take steps to promote the field of Hotel Management at the University of Swat and to propose projects in the next fiscal year’s budget to provide futsal facilities in ten universities of the province.
Additionally, he directed for the construction of a guesthouse, auditorium, and an indoor gymnasium in girls’ hostel at the University of Swat.
The Vice Chancellor briefed the Senate on the University of Swat’s performance over the past three years, stating that currently 9,059 students are enrolled in BS programs, 756 in MPhil and MS programs, and 315 scholars in PhD programs. Moreover, over 18,000 students are studying in colleges affiliated with this university.
The briefing also mentioned that the University of Swat ranks 10th in the province according to the Times Higher Education ranking. The university has also established linkages with various national and international institutions, the authorities concluded.
