Governor assures KU of his full support

Zubair distributes laptops among outstanding students 

The University of Karachi is a premier institution of the country which produces commendable students that go all over the world and are recognised greatly. We need to look forward to future and acquire education not for the sake of merely a degree but for knowledge since education is power.

This was stated by Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, who is also the chancellor of the Karachi University (KU), while addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme’s Phase-III held at the Dr AQ Khan Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering’s auditorium at the varsity on Thursday. 

The governor distributed laptops among 40 MPhil and PhD students, while other students would receive their laptops later.

He observed that the KU was a significant identity of Karachi and Pakistan and vowed every possible support for the varsity. “The graduates of KU are a great asset to the nation. I feel honoured to visit my alma mater as its chancellor.”

He informed the audience that he had convened a meeting of vice chancellors at the Governor House the other day to bring together the heads of Sindh’s varsities. He mentioned that the core agenda of the meeting was a discussion on the funding and development of the public sector universities.

He stated that the numbers of students and universities would increase because of population growth. “For that, the government needs to make policies and plans for funding and development.” 

The governor said: “Back in my days, Karachi University was well known not only for its educational standards but also for its extracurricular activities that lack support now.” 

He said he would provide total support for he was a part of the Higher Education Commission. He added that he would meet all relevant people regardless of their records and backgrounds so to ensure educational development.

Zubair said he had been to various universities across Sindh where he realised that drastic change would come if the federal and provincial governments joined hands in terms of providing time, money and model thinking.

“Laptop was previously available only to the elite, but this government has made it available to the eligible middle class and lower middle class students to ensure educational equality.”

He further said that the distribution of laptops was transparent and merit-based. “I am available for all kinds of support especially for security. I feel nostalgic as I recall how the university used to be so beautiful in my days here in the 70s. I, as the chancellor of this university, will give more than 100 percent for its progress.”

Earlier, KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan pointed out that the ranking of the university used to be so high that no other institution could match its prestige.

“We have grown to 54 departments and 21 institutions along with more than 850 trained faculty members striving to provide quality education. Our teaching standard is improving whereas the infrastructure is insufficient for more than 35,000 students, which was initially built for just 12,000 students. We need a consistent approach from both the provincial and federal governments to ensure development of the university.

“I understand that the scheme has so far benefited a large number of students, researchers and scholars of universities across the country, and I am sure that most of the recipients of laptops have already enhanced their knowledge, skills and learning in multiple disciplines of education.”

The focal person of the laptop scheme of the University of Karachi, Professor Dr Muhammad Zaheer Khan, said that in this age of information technology it seemed impossible to get quality education without technology resources; therefore, the prime minister of Pakistan had announced the laptop scheme in 2013 to ensure that eligible students would have access to technological resources.

“More than 3, 000 laptops were distributed during the first and second phases at KU and 2, 331 laptops will be distributed in the third phase at the varsity, whereas the proposed distribution for the third phase is 100,000 laptops all over Pakistan, including Azad Kashmir.”