Making Karachi a hub of activities like Dubai is my priority: governor

Zubair says Pakistan’s economic future depends on developing the city 

Sindh Govenor Mohammad Zubair has said making Karachi a hub of events and activities like Dubai is his priority now that peace has been restored to the metropolis.

“Karachi is a very peaceful city now,” he said while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of a two-day international conference on innovation and emerging trends in business management, education and social sciences.

The conference is being held at the Iqra University and jointly organised by the IU, the University of Karachi and the Sindh University. It has been partially funded by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

During his speech, the governor urged foreign delegates to spread the message in their home countries that Karachi was no more a dangerous city. He was of the view that Pakistan’s economic future “very much depends upon the development of Karachi”.

He stressed that within the last three to four years, the government had managed to bring about a turnaround in Karachi’s environment, and now it was ideal for commercial activity. 

Zubair observed that higher educational institutions were considered as measuring scales of success in any society and youngsters after graduation became the need of their relevant disciplines.

He further stated that teaching on campus played a very important role in students’ lives, including their professional work. If students had earned their degrees while doing research during their studies, it became a matter of pride not only for their intuitions but also for the country, he added.

“I feel proud that I am chancellor of around 62 universities or institutions of Sindh.” 

The governor described the collaboration between the government and the private sector for promoting education as a positive sign. He added that this collaboration would surely help in increasing the standards of education as well as in spreading eagerness about getting research-based education.

He stated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was a game changer not just for the region, but its impact would be seen on an even larger scale. “After the completion of the CPEC project, Pakistan will have a new era of development and success as it will give chances of employment to huge numbers of citizens.”

Earlier, the ceremony began with a welcome address by IU Vice Chancellor Dr Wasim Qazi, who apprised the audience of the core values of the institution and said research and innovation would be the foremost priority of the university.

The keynote address was given by Dr Robert Griffin, Oklahoma City University, USA. He talked about the digital era and its impact on students’ psyche. He emphasised the importance of the delicate role of teachers to ensure that technology was used only to enhance learning and building a positive attitude.

Earlier, KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, in his address, highlighted the need to develop indigenous technology and produce finished goods instead of relying on the production in the raw form.

Later, HEC Executive Director Dr Arshad Ali highlighted the priorities of the commission which, he said, were to develop a higher education institution at the
district level, ensure the quality of education was of no
less than the international level, and above all to promote and fund research that was relevant to the country’s needs.

He appreciated the increasing support of the federal government in the shape of an increased budget allocation for higher education.

The conference will last two days and numerous research papers will be presented by national and international researchers.

The conference is being seen as a great example of private-public partnership in the education sector and may be followed by other institutions of the country in future.