Governor vows to address financial woes of varsities

MINGORA: Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Saturday said he would spare no effort to pull out the public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the financial crisis.

Addressing the third convocation of the University of Swat at its main campus in Charbagh, he urged the universities to come up with plans to generate more funds.

The governor said that he had discussed the financial problems being faced by the public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, saying that he allocated funds to all universities in the country for the fiscal year 2024-25. He said the promotion of quality education and research culture were the primary responsibilities of the universities, which would not only build the soft image of the universities but would also provide these institutions of higher education with opportunities to increase their financial resources. He said the people of Swat were peace-loving. “The daughter of this soil, Malala Yousafzai, is an education ambassador at the global level,” he maintained.

Congratulating the graduates, the governor urged them to contribute to the efforts to build a soft image of their area. “There is a lot of potential in the tourism sector, which is to be utilized for both financial uplift and creating a peaceful environment,” he added.

Earlier, University of Swat Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Hassan highlighted the achievements made by the university, especially during the last few years. He said the University of Swat was imparting quality education to its students despite financial problems. “We hope that the governor will continue his efforts to overcome the financial problems of universities,” he said, adding that the University of Swat had established linkages with different international organizations with the basic motive of achieving the task of quality education. The governor awarded gold medals to 58 students and degrees to 152 students in different programmes.

Later, talking to media persons, he said that the decision about Operation Azm-e-Istehkam was taken in the apex committee meeting, where Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was present. He said the government will hold an All-Parties Conference to discuss the law and order issue in KP and take all stakeholders onboard.