The Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftekhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said the cherished goal of knowledge-based society with a scientific outlook couldn't be achieved without hard work and dedication.
"We as a nation have to go an extra mile in order to make up for the lost time if we want to catch up with the pace of advancement in the developed countries," he said while addressing as chief guest at the 9th Convocation-2006 of Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology here on Saturday.
Among others, the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed, judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and High Court of Sindh, prominent lawyers; noted educationists, scholars, researchers and prominent citizens and parents of graduating students attended the convocation.
"We can aspire to compete at the international level only if we bring in much required social changes and do away with the stereotypes at the intellectual as well as practical levels," Justice Iftekhar Chaudhry emphasised.
He said the quality of education delivered by a university could be gauged from the quality of its faculty and its graduates. Highly qualified faculty and well-equipped laboratories demand for its graduates, both nationally and internationally and its contributions towards public services are clear manifestations that in a very short span of time this university has achieved commendable standard of education.
Justice Iftekhar Chaudhry said during the recent past, the Government had also become aware of this state of affairs. A number of significant characters had been introduced. These may take some time to come to fruition, but there is already been a significant change in our approach towards education.
The Government, he pointed out, had encouraged participation by and partnership with the private sector in the education arena.
He said over the past few years a number of very good academic institutions have come up in the country where the students were encouraged to engage in research and creative thinking.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan said the government had provided ample opportunities for advance studies on scholarships, both within the country and abroad. The Government is endeavouring to create an enabling environment in which premium is placed on education and merit, in so much as it has, amended the election laws thereby prescribing minimum academic qualifications for public representatives as well.
He told the gathering of the elite that a convocation ceremony is a significant movement and a memorable occasion in the life of those graduates whose hard work is formally recognised through the award of degrees.
"I congratulate the graduating students and extend my wishes for a successful and bright future that awaits them." Justice Iftekhar added that graduation was a major milestone in one's life and his advice to this year's graduates of SSUET was that that occasion should not let them think that it was an end of their academic life, because learning was a life long process.
"You are now at the threshold of your professional life which will amply demonstrate that if you become complacent towards learning, you will be left far behind", he concluded.