Tribute paid to GCU founding principal

LAHORE
GOVERNMENT College University (GCU) held a ceremony to pay tributes to its founder principal and Hungarian national Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner in collaboration with the Embassy of Hungry on Friday.
A plaque of Prof G.W. Leitner as founder principal of 151-year-old Government College Lahore was also fixed at the historical Bukhari Auditorium which was inaugurated by Punjab Minister for Law Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rahman, Ambassador of Hungary to Pakistan Istvan Szabo and Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Khaleeq-ur-Rahman. A large number of Old Ravians students were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Istvan Szabo announced scholarships for 80 Pakistani students including GCU on behalf of the Hungry government adding that an agreement would soon be signed in this regard.
He also said cultural exchange was the best way of bringing two nations closer. “Culture knows no boundaries. It doesn’t require any visa, he added. It directly reaches the heart of the people,” he said.
Ambassador Istvan Szabo also said it was a matter of great pride for them that Hungarian national Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner laid the foundation of modern education system in this part of the subcontinent.
Vice-Chancellor Prof Rahman said Dr Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (1840-1899), the first principal of Government College Lahore, was one of the greatest linguists and educationalists to work for Lahore and the Punjab, and definitely an outstanding researcher of the east.
“Our government colleges and our central model schools all flowed from the foundations Dr Leitner laid”, he further said. The vice-chancellor said the main building of GCU Kala Shah Kaku would also be named after the first principal of Government College Lahore.
Punjab Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rahman said Pakistan wished to establish strong cultural, diplomatic and economic relations with Hungry.
It is pertinent to mention here that Old Ravians had last year demanded that the Kachari Road Lahore must be renamed as Leitner Road to honour the man who founded Government College, Lahore, Punjab University Lahore, and Oriental College, Lahore (all of them located on Kachari Road).
Later, a group of Hungarian artists performed at the ceremony.
Meanwhile, according to a press release, Ambassador Istvan Szabo along with MD/CEO MOL Pakistan Akos Grosz, COO MOL Pakistan, Ahmad Nawaz and Group Regional Adviser Middle East, Africa & Pakistan Ali Murtaza Abbas visited University of Engineering and Technology (UET) and met Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between MOL Pakistan Oil & Gas Co. B. V Islamabad and UET Lahore for the purpose of promoting collaboration in academic and research activities pertaining to Oil and Gas Engineering.
The delegation also inaugurated the Computer Lab, Petroleum Engineering Department, UET, Lahore. Amanat Ali Bhatti, Assistant Professor, briefed the delegation about the Petroleum & Gas Engineering Department.