NWFP Governor Khalil-ur-Rehman has stressed for making special efforts to further strengthen linkages between universities and the respective private sector institutions, particularly, the industries and business concerns and making the curriculums market-oriented to enable graduates to be the choosers rather wandering in search of employment opportunities.
Addressing as the chief guest at the 9th Convocation of NWFP University of Engineering and Technology in Peshawar on Wednesday, the Governor said no doubt significant headway had already been made in the recent past yet, he remarked, there was dire need to make result oriented efforts in that respect.
A stronger postgraduate programme and increased interaction with industry were the keys of improvement in that area, he said. In all 700 graduates, 13 were awarded M Sc degrees whereas only one got Ph D for the Session 2003-4. 16 graduates also got gold medals and amongst them six were also adjudged for presidential awards.
Stressing the need of quality education, the Governor said indeed the standard of research was the main indicator of success of any institution, which unfortunately, in the past suffered neglect. Now owing to availability of increased financial support, he added the universities should focus on that important aspect of studies as a means of addressing the society's problems.
In this connection, he also paid rich tributes to the keen interest being taken at the Federal level particularly by the President General Pervez Musharraf, the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the Chairman of Higher Education Commission Dr Atta-ur-Rehman and said execution of huge projects worth rupees 1.75 billions in that institution alone was the clear depiction in that respect.
Highlighting the importance of responsibilities of engineers, the Governor said in fact they were considered to be the builders of nations and it was their prime responsibility to satisfy the ever-growing technological demands of the society. He remarked we find remarkable contributions of scientists and engineers to elevating developed nations to their present status.
But, he added the situation in our country was not encouraging. He mentioned the disasters caused because of the recent Earthquake in the certain parts of the province and said almost all government buildings in quake hit areas had been completely destroyed which itself also provided sufficient food for thought.
The governor asked the graduating students that the day was made possible by their hard work and dedication in following rigorous study schedules, which demonstrated their firm commitment to their chosen profession. "You have acquired the basic knowledge and skills for a successful beginning in your career. However, he added getting degrees was not the end of learning process and in order to satisfy ever increasing complex technological demands of the society they had to continue to upgrade their professional skills to make progress in their lives.
The Vice Chancellor of the University Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani while welcoming the guests on the occasion said they were working in a team spirit with other sister institutions as well as the faculties and were also following a long term strategy to develop their university. In this connection, he said almost 55 students were doing their Ph D including 30 in the foreign universities whereas 30 more were expected to be registered for Ph D studies in the Spring Session 2006.
In nutshell, he added they were expecting to have almost 85 faculty members with Ph D degrees within next four years. While highlighting ongoing physical infrastructure development projects of University, he said two new departments including Mechatronics and Urban Planning had been launched in Hayatabad over two separate plots measuring 70 Kanals and 40 Kanals, respectively. Besides, be added they also had close contact with Pakistan Army, PAF and other institutions.
Earlier, the Governor gave away degrees and awards. Abid Riaz, Samera Hayat, Hayat Muhammad Khan and Sawar Khan also bagged Presidential awards; apart from the gold medals whereas the rest of gold medallists included Muhammad Ajmal, Mujahid, Qazi Rashid Hameed, Sajjad Khan, Sardar Muhammad Alizai, Muhammad Shafique, Saeed Khan, Imran Sadiq, Muhammad Nasir Jamal, Muhammad Arif Khan, Hayat Muhammad Khan, Munawar Zaman, Imran Omer, Asif Khan, Salman Ahmad and Muhammad Jehangir Khan.