President Alvi urges to prevent drug abuse from universities
Bajwa helped Imran in senate and general elections says Arif Alvi
- Universities to ensure free education to the students with disabilities
- University to constitute Anti-Drug and Tobacco Committee
ISLAMABAD, Aug 26,2021- President Dr Arif Alvi directed the management of universities to make free from drug and tobacco abuse and also said to ensure early implementation of the policies for providing free education to the students with disabilities as well as prevent drug abuse from their respective institutions.
The president, who was chairing on Thursday a follow-up meeting with the Vice Chancellors Committee on Drug Abuse and Welfare of Differently-abled people, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, was told that Policy for Students with Disabilities (SWDs) provided them age relaxation up to 10 years for taking admission in any educational, technical institutions and universities.
Moreover, in order to encourage students with disabilities to continue their higher studies, the policy also provided for waiving off all institutional charges, including tuition fees, hostel fees and utility bills.
Vice-Chancellor Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) informed the meeting that university had already implemented the policy and had started facilitating the SWDs.
Menace of drugs
He also underlined the need for making the higher educational institutions of the country free from drug and tobacco abuse to save the young generation from the menace of drugs.
He urged the management of universities to focus on drug prevention in their respective institutions to provide the students with a healthy and enabling environment for their studies.
University to constitute Anti-Drug and Tobacco Committee
The HEC informed that the draft Policy of Drug and Tobacco Abuse had been finalized in the light of the guidance provided by President Alvi in the meetings held with the Vice-Chancellors Committee.
It was informed that the Policy had been approved by HEC on July 28, 2021 which had also been shared with HEIs.
Highlighting the main features of the policy, it was informed that each university would be required to constitute Anti-Drug and Tobacco Committee to prevent drug abuse in universities.
The HEC informed that QAU, through its National Institute of Psychology in collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, would train counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists to provide counselling services to the students.
Mobile app about drug abuse
The Ministry of Narcotics Control informed the participants that the ministry had designed a mobile application, “Zindagi” to provide information about the prevention and treatment of drug abuse.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Narcotics Control, Ijaz Ahmad Shah, Secretary Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, Farah Hamid Khan, Secretary Human Rights Inamullah Khan, Executive Director HEC Dr Shaista Sohail, DG ANF Major General Ghulam Shabeer Narejo, Director Enforcement ANF Brig Jehanzaib Akhtar, Director General National Health Services Regulation & Coordination, Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar and Vice-Chancellors of various universities and senior officials of the Government.
