Agri varsity closes down Attock campus, moves students, staff to Rawalpindi.

TAXILA -- The fate of around a hundred students at the Attock campus of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University (PMAS-AAUR) hangs in the balance after the university administration shut down the campus and directed staff and students to join the main campus in Rawalpindi.

The administration has attributed the shifting of students and staff to low enrolment and a lack of facilities, particularly laboratories.

The move has caused unrest among students, as studying in Rawalpindi will be more expensive for them and their families. The Attock campus was offering an FSc programme in Pre-Agriculture and a BSc programme in Agriculture in which around a hundred people are enrolled.

University says campus closed due to low enrolment, lack of facilities

The university's Attock campus was established in 2014. Three batches of FSc students have graduated from there, along with the first batch of BSc students in 2018.

However, sources said that although three classes of FSc students graduated from the campus, these programmes commenced without approval from the concerned authorities because this certificate programme is not recognised by the Higher Education Commission or any intermediate or secondary board.

The Attock campus has been operating in a building of the Government Postgraduate College Attock while its own building is under construction. The campus was established with financial assistance from the Punjab government, and around 1000 kanals of land were acquired between 2014 and 2016 by the university along with an approved construction map and civil works.

Vice Chancellor Dr Qamaruz Zaman said construction of a new Attock campus began in 2016 with an initial allocation of Rs889 million. Because of the delays, the cost of the project was revised and another Rs200m were set aside in addition to the approved sum.

Dr Zaman added that the campus would have an academic block, library, other facilities and the capacity to...

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