ISLAMABAD: National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Federal Education & Professional Training considered and recommended various bills on Wednesday. The meeting of NA Body was held in Committee Room #7, of the Parliament House, with Member of National Assembly Colonel (r) Dr Amirullah Marwat in the chair. The committee was told, “The Sir Syed Centre for Advanced Studies in Engineering Institute of Technology Islamabad Bill, 2016 is under evaluation at the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The decision will be taken after ensuring the standard academic, financial and infrastructural facilities on the site of the institute ie Sector B-17, Islamabad.” The NA Body recommended The Institute for Art & Culture Bill, 2018 giving due consideration to the No Objection Certificate granted by HEC in favor of the Institute. The committee considered The Minorities Access to Higher Education Bill, 2018 aimed at allocation of minorities quota at 5 percent in all the universities as well as Degree Awarding Institutes. The HEC did not support the bill, it being contrary to the spirit of merit and HEC’s Model University Ordinance #CXX of 2002 which reads, “University shall be open to all persons of either gender and of whatever religion, race, creed, class, colour or domicile and no person shall be denied the privileges of the university on the grounds of religion, race, caste, creed, class, colour or domicile” as the minorities have already been getting admission, on merit, in all the higher education institutions. Accordingly, the committee did not recommend the bill. The NA was told that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor on the recommendations of HEC, has directed the Women University Swabi vice chancellor to reverse the recruitment process initiated in the pursuance to their advertisement dated December 11, 2017 and follow the standard recruitment procedure as pointed out by the HEC. Moreover, the committee was directed to submit the case of the promotion against the post of professor, to the university syndicate for its early settlement. Published in Daily Times, March 22nd 2018.