458 get degrees, gold medals at SBBWU’s 4th convocation

PESHAWAR: Around 414 graduates received degrees and 44 were awarded gold medals at the 4th convocation of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) here on Monday.

The SBBWU convocation was held at the Convocation Hall of the University of Peshawar. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra as chief guest distributed degrees and gold medals among the graduates.

Around 414 students received degrees and 44 graduates were awarded gold medals. Two PhD and three MPhil degrees were also awarded. Speaking on the occasion, SBBWU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Razia Sultana said providing education opportunities to half of the country's population would ensure their role in the country's development.

She said the SBBWU was a new university but expressed the hope that it would earn a place among the top universities in Pakistan during the next five to 10 years. The university was undergoing a stressful period due to the shortage of buildings, she said and hoped to get mega projects from the federal government.

She stressed the need for establishment of an endowment fund that would keep the university out of financial crisis. The vice-chancellor claimed that affiliation had been extended to 49 programmes at the colleges. Dr Razia Sultana said that 4,500 students have been enrolled at the university, including 600 from Fata.

One of the gold medal recipients was Faryal of the Department of Psychology. Talking to reporters after the convocation, the physically challenged Faryal asked media to stop using "disabled" or other words that present such persons as incapable of undertaking activities that other people do. The excelling graduate said she had competed with all other students and remained the top student of her class. "I am not disabled as I outclassed all students in my class," she added.