In all over the Punjab, about one hundred and Fourteen (114) Commercial Training Institutes were established between 1984 to 1987, which later on developed and got their names as Government Associate Colleges of Commerce or Government Graduate College of Commerce.
Ironically these institutions were established mostly in the rented buildings and with the exception of few still these colleges are functioning in the rented buildings. This definitely causes extra financial burden on the Government exchequer. However in the year 2014 the Higher Education Department Government of the Punjab Lahore introduced a policy " Optimization of Commerce Colleges" and some of the Commerce Colleges were shifted to the nearest General Cader colleges. This policy could not be implemented in letter and spirit as most of the Colleges could not be shifted to the nearest ones having their own building infrastructure and those shifted were not appropriately accommodated.
At present Government of the Punjab has once again decided to shift these poor colleges into the nearest Commerce or General College whichever is nearer. Here a dirty game of personal liking and disliking starts as some of such colleges are proposed to be shifted to the colleges situated at long distances while ignoring those which are closer. This act will definitely cause negative impact on the ongoing students of these institutions and on the staff of such colleges who will be dislocated from their stations and majority of such faculty is at the verge of retirement. Such officers/ officials of Higher Education Department will opt for early retirement which will cause negative impact on already suffering economy, and shifting to long distanced college will have its own financial impact. This will be sufficient to fail the whole process which otherwise can be benevolent for both kinds of educational institutions.
It is high time for the authorities of Higher Education Department, to issue clear cut policy guidelines for the shifting/ merging of these colleges while taking into account the educational and human aspects of the matter. This singular act if executed wisely will initiate a new era of business and commercial education in the province of Punjab.