GCU convocation held: Political interference won’t be allowed in varsities: Sarwar

LAHORE: The 18th convocation of Government College University (GCU) Lahore was held on Tuesday in which graduates of the university were awarded degrees while an honorary PhD degree was also conferred upon the British Member of Parliament (MP) Afzal Khan in recognition of his remarkable contribution for the promotion of political, diplomatic, economic and cultural relations between the United Kingdom and Pakistan.

Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar chaired the first session of the convocation where he along with Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi awarded degrees and medals to Afzal Khan, other PhD scholars and position holders.

Besides medals and rolls of honour, a total of 2,044 degrees would be awarded this year at university’s two-day convocation which included 68 PhD, 644 MS/MPhil, 344 MA/MSc degrees and 988 BA/BSc (Hons) degrees.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar said that it was a matter of great pride for him to award the Honoris Causa doctorate degree to Afzal Khan, the first Muslim Lord Mayor of Manchester, who played a pivotal role in bringing together the European nations and the Muslim world and highlighting the issue of Palestine and Kashmir at the international platforms.

The governor also announced setting up Chancellor’s Fund for providing scholarships to the needy university students. He said the Punjab government had appointment all Vice Chancellors (VCs) on merit, so it was expected from them to follow the merit as well.

The governor congratulated the graduates, saying that they had crossed an important milestone in their lives. “It is up to you now to discover your exact potential and transform the world around you in accordance with the ideals you have acquired during your studies,” he said. He said that girls had outshined boys in all fields of life and now 80 percent of academic medals in universities were won by the girls.

Ch Muhammad Sarwar said the doors of Governor House were open for VCs of public and private universities. He added resolving issues of the VCs was his duty. He said he would not allow political interference in universities as long as he was the Governor/Chancellor. He said the government was taking revolutionary steps so that no student was left behind because of financial issues.