KARACHI: In the Sindh’s academic history, officials of the College Education Department have decided to start the functioning of 15 new government degree colleges including 9 girls’ colleges across Sindh in the ongoing academic year, Daily Times has learnt. In those new colleges which are going to be started, the department has almost concluded preparations for the admission process whereas the buildings have already been furnished with furniture, electricity and other prerequisites facilities. Similarly, the Sindh’s Finance Department has as well approved Sanctioned New Expenditures (SNE) for those newly functionalizing colleges. However, officials of the department have only added a single college of the Karachi’s region namely Government Girls College Shahnawaz Shar Goth located at Gulistan-e-Johar into the Centralized Admission Policy (CAP). In the same college, the college’s administration has however offered admission to the intermediate students since last year when the college was running as Higher Secondary but the CED’s officials upgraded it to degree level this year. The students who seek admissions after completion of matriculation, commonly face a difficult procedure for admission including ranking in merit lists, prescribed period of time for applications as well as long distances from their residencies, the documentation of Permanent Residence Certificates (PRC) and domicile. Although, the rest of those newly started colleges will give admission on the bases of first come first serve-where the aspirants of the respective areas would get advantage of this opportunity and will also get rid of the stumbling blocks. Apart from this, the procedure of enlisting faculty members, non-teaching staff and clerical staff has been started-permitted by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah earlier in 2017. After the declaration of Education Emergency in the province by the CM, it’s for the first time in the academia history as the college education department is going to start 15 government degree colleges in a single academic year. It is worthwhile mentioning here that around 275 government colleges are functioning across the province. Out of which 131 colleges are located in Karachi but number of the government colleges will be increased up to 290 after the starting those new colleges this year. In those colleges, eight colleges are located in the various regions of interior Sindh included Government Degree College Sindhri, Mirpurkhas, Government Degree College Dhoro, Sanghar, Government Degree College Umerkot, Ayesha Government Girls Degree College, Nawabshah, Government Girls Degree College Shahpur Chakar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Government Boys Degree College Shahpur Chakar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Government Degree College, Padidan, Naushahro Feroze, Government Girls Degree College Qambar, Sukkar. The rest of the colleges which are going to be opened, are located in different areas of Karachi which include Nusrat Bhutto Government Girls College Lyari, Government Girls College Shahnawaz Shar Goth , Gulistan-e-Johar, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Government Girls College Lyari, Government Girls Degree College Ibrahim Hyderi, Government Girls College Gulzar-e-Hijri and Marium Mukhtiar Shaikh Government Girls Degree College Liaquatabad. Respectively, more than 2 million students are expected to get enrolled in the Higher Secondary Schools and intermediate level colleges running under the Sindh government, this year. For whom, more and more accommodation facilities are required. In this connection, the construction of 6 to 7 colleges has been completed in Karachi’s region but those building s have not been handed over to the CED by the contractors and Sindh’s Works and Services Department till now. Published in Daily Times, August 16th 2017.