KARACHI - Universities are recognised not by their amazing buildings or infrastructure but by their qualified faculty and quality of education. This was the crux of speeches delivered by former HEC chairman Professor Dr Attaur Rahman, Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, Arif Habib, Majid Aziz Balagamwala and others at the 33rd Board of Governors meeting of the Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education (DIHE) Karachi on Monday.
They said that qualified faculty was imperative for improving the quality of education and research at varsities.
They were of the view that faculty members must study online courses regarding their subjects at top ranking universities of the world. The speakers pointed out that education and health were the most neglected sectors in the country, and unless improvements were made in these two sectors, Pakistan could not become a developed state.
Dr Attaur Rehman, in his address, praised DIHE Vice Chancellor Professor Shahana Urooj Kazmi for her contributions to the uplift of the institute not only academically but also from the research point of view. “The faculty of the institute is well- qualified as it has the largest number of PhD permanent faculty members than any other private sector university of the country,” he added. The meeting was the first meeting of this academic year.
The meeting was chaired by DIHE Chairman Abdullah Dadabhoy.
Professor Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi, VC Dadabhoy Institute, while briefing about the meeting, said that DIHE had received 94 percent score in HEC’s ranking of QEC’s across Pakistan which, she said, was indeed a great achievement.
She informed that faculty of law had been reopened with new programmes and Justice (r)Sarmad Jalal Osmani of the Supreme Court had joined DIHE last year as its Dean.
“The enrollment since I joined the institute has more than doubled; from 3,000 students to more than 7,000 students right now,” she said, and added, “It’s all because of quality education, dedicated faculty members and provision of state-of-the-art facilities to the students.” Dadabhoy Institute has requested the government of Sindh to raise its level to that of a university. In reply the Sindh government has asked it to submit the feasibility report. Furthermore 250 acres of land has been reserved for Dadabhoy University, which has been donated by Dadabhoy Foundation,” said Dr Kazmi while receiving an informal briefing.