1,594 degrees awarded at KU’s 29th convocation

One thousand, five hundred and ninety-four students were awarded degrees in various disciplines at the 29th convocation of the University of Karachi on Saturday. This year’s number of degrees conferred in absentia was 3,823. Thirty-three MPhil, 123 PhD, two MS and one MD degrees were also awarded.

According to details, 284 MSc, 269 BSc Honours, 220 MA, 174 BA Honours, 135 PharmD, 127 BS, 38 MCom, 30 MPA, 27 MBA, 26 MCS, 24 BPA Honours, 16 LLB, 12 MHRM, 11 BEd, eight BE, seven BS (CS), seven MPP, six BS (SE), five BBA Honours, four MLIS, three BLIS, one MA (E&F) and one MAS degrees were also conferred.

KU also awarded 177 gold medals. Syeda Dreshawwar Fatima of MSc Physiology clinched the overall top position and received a gold medal. The chief guest, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, who is KU’s chancellor, distributed gold medals among the top position holders, while the deans awarded gold medals to other recipients.

Faiza Fateh Muhammad bagged the overall first position in the Arts & Social Sciences faculty, Hafsa Mansoor in Education, Huma Anwar in Islamic Studies, Syeda Rida Arif in Law, Humaira in Pharmacy, Syeda Dreshawwar Fatima in Science, Fatima Ali (MBA) in Management & Administrative Sciences and Nimra Alavi (MPA) in Management & Administrative Sciences.

‘Have a vision’

Ismail said KU is one of the most prestigious universities in Pakistan. “Its past, present and future is directly linked with the history of academic progression in the country.”

He advised every student to have a vision, as it would lay the foundation of their lives and is necessary for growth in professional work. He also advised them to never lose hope at any stage of life.

He said students should think and dream big, and then achieve it with their dedication. Students should realise that governments spend a huge amount on the education sector, and they have to pay it back to their country, he added.

He announced that the federal government will complete the Karachi University Hospital project with the help of public-private partnership. He also announced that he would talk to Prime Minister Imran Khan to increase the grants for KU.

“During the last 71 years, our country has gone through many ups and downs. Despite the geographical constraints and limited resources, Pakistan made the world accept it through constant efforts, education, research and determination.

“Pakistan is a part of the Third World, but it has been blessed with skilled manpower, and great minds are our biggest strength. In the course of transforming these minds into experts, our universities, particularly KU, has played a huge role. This aspect gives it a unique standing among other universities of Pakistan.”

Two convocations

KU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan said: “It’s a matter of pleasure for me that we’re organising the convocation after a gap of only 11 months. This indicates that we’re able to clear the results’ backlog to award degrees the same year the students graduated.

“We are continuously upgrading our curricula to keep abreast with current knowledge and societal needs and challenges. To further strengthen academic activities, national and international conferences, workshops, seminars, video and extension lectures are regularly organised at KU.”

He said the university has been at the forefront in creating and dispensing knowledge for the last 66 years. “We hope to create an atmosphere where students are stimulated to wonder and ask questions. After they reach a level of curiosity, we teach them how to answer those questions.

“The skills that we provide lead to enhancement of not only their ideas but to create new knowledge that can be used to make this country one of the most developed nations in the world.”

He said Rs34.5 million has been distributed as dean’s research grant despite the university’s severe financial crisis. He expressed gratitude for Sardar Yasin Malik, who has started constructing a modern school for the children of KU employees.

“KU has received first instalments of Rs520 million approved from the Sindh government to improve our water and sewerage system. The provincial chief minister released Rs477 million to help in recurring expenses. The Higher Education Commission [HEC] provides funds of Rs1.76 billion.”

He said selection boards are being held regularly and the remainder of the 2014 advertisements will be finished shortly. He announced that KU has planned new ads, which have been long-awaited.

“Our online admission policy has been a great success, and after learning from last year’s mistakes, we have improved our system by involving five major banks to collect fee for the students wherever their branches exist.

”Admissions are progressing with minimal hitches. We will continue to follow the new tradition of providing both ID card and enrolment card immediately after admissions.

“We have documented 800 research papers in the impact factor journals from science and pharmacy faculty, while about 400 papers were published from arts and other faculties. If we include papers published in HEC-approved and other journals, total publications for the last year will come to over 2,000 papers.”

He advised that to become a developed country, we need to invest in science. He said the governments need to invest sustainably for at least three decades in promoting and sustaining science culture in Pakistan, which will lead to quality science and eventually produce technology to make the country rich.

“KU is committed to remaining on top in the nation for quality of education and research through the dedication of its faculty. Our millions of graduates all over the world are making excellent contributions and doing us proud.”