BAJAUR: Work on the proposed university in Bajaur has yet to begin despite announcement made by the government some three years ago.

Sources said the university was approved by then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Mahmood Khan during his visit to the district in November 2022.

The sources said soon after announcing the project, Mahmood Khan had held a meeting with officials of the district administration and other relevant authorities, directing them to ensure project`s smooth implementation in order to ensure provision of higher education facilities to the local youth.

However, according to the sources, no progress has been made on the project.

`The unnecessary delay in launch of work on the university is a matter of grave concern for the people,` said Habibullah Qasimi, chairman of Qasimi Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation working for promotion of education in the district.

Fazal Rehman, a local journalist focusing on education and other socialissues, said people of the region, especially the youth, were thrilled when the former chief minister announced the establishment of a full-fledged university in the district with the hope that the facility would help promote higher education in the region.

He, however, regretted that unnecessary delay in execution of the project was causing disappointment among the local youth.

`I fear the varsity project may suf fer the same fate as other mega projects announced for the district a decade ago,` said Mr Rehman. He said other projects included a medical college, a campus of the University of Engineering Peshawar and a cadet college.

Dr Hamidur Rahman, PTI MPA and chairman of the district development advisory committee, confirmed that work on the university was yet to begin.

Mr Rehman, who made the university`s establishment among his key election campaign items during the February 8, 2024 general elections, told Dawn that the PTI previous government had also included the project in its Annual Development Programme.

However, the MPA said the project was later dropped by the caretaker government. However, the lawmaker claimed that the provincial government had now principally decided to establish the university in Bajaur.

Dr Rehman, however, said the facility would now be a campus of the University of Peshawar as per the provincial government`s new policy.

He said as per the plan the campus would be initially opened in an existing building of a government educational institution in Khar town. He added the facility could be later upgraded to a full-fledged university if necessary.

Deputy commissioner Shahid Ali Khan also confirmed that a joint team of officials from the Higher Education Commission and the University of Peshawar had inspected four government educational institutions to select a suitable site for the proposed university campus in the district.

Anwarullah Khan