A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was inked on Friday by District Jinnah Public School Trust (DJPST) Mandi Bahauddin and the University of Gujrat (UoG) to set up a UoG sub-campus at the former’s premises. The MoU signing ceremony was held in the Video Conferencing Hall at Hafiz Hayat Campus of the UoG. The historic agreement was signed by Registrar Dr Tahir Aqil and Principal DJPST Mandi Bahauddin Col. (retd) Javed Naeemi. Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr Shabbar Atiq presided over the proceedings of the ceremony. He welcomed and thanked the participants, the local political leadership as well as district government administration, for their cooperation and support which culminated into the setting up of UoG sub-campus in Mandi Bahauddin. He said that his administration started work on the project funded by the federal government through Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) immediately after the UoG syndicate gave the go-ahead on September 3 by opening online admission in four-year degree programmes in four disciplines at the newly set-up campus which will operate from the DJPST premises initially for three years. He said that students from Mandi Bahauddin and adjoining regions will greatly benefit from the move due to the close proximity of a higher education facility. MNA Haji Imtiaz Ahmad, the chief guest of the ceremony, in his remarks on the occasion said it was the most satisfying moment for him as member of National Assembly because it served the purpose for which he was elected by the people of Mandi Bahauddin. He thanked MPA Sajid Bhatti, Deputy Commissioner Mandi Bahauddin Mehtab Wasim Azhar, DJPST administration as well as UoG Vice chancellor Prof. Dr Shabbar Atiq for their unstinting support and cooperation in the establishment of UoG sub-campus in Mandi Bahauddin. Among the guests of honour were Commissioner Gujranwala Division Waqas Ali Mehmood, DC Gujrat Dr Khurram Shahzad, MPA and executive member of HEC Sajid Bhatti, DC Mandi Bahauddin Mehtab Wasim Azhar and senior UoG administration officials. Commissioner Gujranwala Waqas Ali Mehmood and DC Mandi Bahauddin Mehtab Wasim Azhar in their remarks on the occasion hailed the agreement between the UoG and DJPST as a successful move towards making quality education accessible to the youth in the region. In return for using DJPS infrastructure facility, the UoG has set up a quota of 10 percent for DJPS students in admission to various programmes and disciplines undertaken by the sub-campus in Mandi Bahauddin. The DJPST will also benefit from all UoG activities and initiatives aimed at faculty training and capacity building. Director Media Sheikh Abdul Rashid moderated the ceremony. He briefly discussed the history of UoG, which was set up just a decade-and-a-half ago in the region commonly known as industrial triangle of three cities of Gujranwala, Gujrat and Sialkot, and the role it has played in the educational and intellectual uplift in the region so much so that it has come to be known as ‘golden triangle’ of central Punjab.