Pakistan: Student transportation: More than 100 girls’ colleges in Punjab lack buses

More than 100 girls’ colleges in the province, including 11 in Faisalabad division, do not have buses to pick and drop students, The Express Tribune has learnt. Women’s colleges in Faisalabad division that lack buses are: Government Girls College Saifabad, Government Girls College 122-JB on Sargodha Road, Government Girls College Jhumra City, Government Girls College Gulshan Colony, Government Girls College Mureedwala, Government Girls College Mamu Kanjan, Government Girls College Sahianwala, Government Girls College Rajana, Government Girls College Lalian, Government Girls College Bhowana and Government Girls College Jhang City. An Education Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said that the government had decided to provide buses to all girls’ colleges in the Punjab. He said announcements had also been made at these colleges last year. He said, in June 2012 the Higher Education Department was given the task to prepare a report regarding 274 girl colleges and 205 boy colleges of the province providing the number of students enrolled, location of the colleges and the state of public transport. He said the department had recommended 195 buses in total for 116 girl colleges. In February 2013, he said, the government provided buses to 44 colleges in the Punjab. He said students of several colleges, including, the Government Post Graduate College for Women on Kutchery Road in Multan and Government Post Graduate College for Women Satellite Town in Gujranwala, had protested against the government for not being given buses. He said the number of students at these colleges was 6,392 and 5,576, respectively. The department had recommended six and five buses for these colleges, he added. He said none of the 11 girls’ colleges in Faisalabad were on the list. Mahnoor Shah, a student at the Government Girls College in Jhang City, said the college management had annocuned that the school would get a bus in February 2013. She said most students came from villages, where it was difficult to get a bus. She said rickshaws to the city were expensive. She said some of her college fellows had dropped out because of the transport problem. Ghulam Fatima, a student at the Government Girls College Bhowana, said that her daily commute to the college cost Rs200-Rs250. Colleges Director Rana Munawwar Khan told The Express Tribune that an updated list of colleges that did not have buses had been forwarded to the government. He said he hoped these colleges would get at least a bus each soon.