KU can become best varsity if faculty’s issues are addressed timely: VC

The vice chancellor of the University of Karachi, Professor Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, believes that the KU could once again become the best and top-ranked university of Pakistan if its faculty’s reservations are properly and timely addressed.

“The KU has the best people in its different faculties, but they seem to be de-motivated due to some reasons. But I am sure if we work together, everything can be solved. I want to give them confidence and like to earn their trust, so we can face and solve each and every problem together.”

Talking to The News after assuming the charge of vice chancellorship, Dr Khan mentioned that he would visit every department, centre and institution established at the campus to listen to keep abreast of complaints of staffers there. 

He stated that he would like to investigate their problems, find out the reasons for their de-motivation and then try his best to address them so people could re-energise themselves and work hard to help the university become the best in the country.

“I will prefer to meet them at their places so that I can also see the surroundings and environment in which they have been working for all these years. I do not like holding such meetings in offices and cannot learn about their problems while sitting in my chair and similarly cannot be helpful if I do not go in the field and experience it personally.”

When he was asked why India and China were way ahead of Pakistan, he replied that both countries kept investing in science and research and so did Pakistan, but at one stage the investment in our country was unnecessarily withheld, whereas India and China did not stop the process and that was why they had now a major role in selling large-range of various merchandises around the globe.  

“This is so unfortunate that our federal and provincial bureaucracy believes that a few grants will bring about sudden changes. However, commitment and consistency is the actual key to development.”

Dr Khan suggested that every developing country should make investment in science and research for 20 to 25 years before thinking about profits. He said that this is so unfortunate that people in the past and present governments want early results without realising that they might be not durable.

“We need to develop a culture which promotes research work as it has solutions of every problem and then we do not need to look at other countries to come forward and help us.”

He recalled that at one stage, Pakistan was heading in the right direction and progressing well in the research sector, the Indian scientists and governments were worried about that progress, but then everything came to a halt and India and China took advantage of that situation and made a lot of progress lately.

“There is a need to learn from other countries. How they managed to progress with their limitation, how they grew their financial resources. Investing in research and science is costly, but the profit is more than imagination and governments should keep the end-results in mind, not the expenditures to obtain the desired results.”

Replying to another question, the vice chancellor stated that the KU had been facing a financial crisis for quite some time and it would not resolved so easily, “so we have to look beyond it”. He observed that progress should not stop due to the unavailability of funds, and believed that there would be other ways to complete them.

He emphasised finding and adopting an alternate technique to perform the task and claimed that he would lead from the front to motivate his staff. “I will push with my all powers.”

Dr Khan was of the view that the Sindh government should open KU campuses in all provincial districts so that deserving students could get standard higher education in their hometown. “This project would provide them better environment, infrastructure while locals will get jobs, and more importantly students do not need to go miles away from their families.”

He suggested that the KU should control the academic and administration affairs for the next 15-20 years or more to establish those campuses and once they were stable, the provincial government should grant them the status of universities.

“By doing so, every district will have its own university with rich experience and the government can easily save a lot of money if this project is accepted.”

Dr Khan further said that the KU needed a strategic vision to become the country’s number one university and it would also help it improve its international ranking. He also shared some of his plans, which he would like to introduce at early stages and one of them is replacing paper work with machine.

He mentioned that electronic devices make work easier and simpler as they are also more efficient and have less chances of error and most importantly reduce chances of corruption a lot.

The VC also wants a fool-proof security plan for the varsity, its teaching and non-teaching staff and students and other people. 

He mentioned that he had come with a simple formula, which was identifying the problem, investigate the matter and the factors behind it, use all available sources to address it once it become evident so that energy could be focused back on work.