KARACHI - As many as 1,962 students were awarded degrees during 28th convocation of the University of Karachi at the Valika Ground on the campus on Saturday. As many as 187 gold medals were also awarded to students who secured first positions in their respective departments. More than 10,000 people attended the annual convocation, which made it the largest academic gathering of the country.

Speaking on the occasion, former alumni of University of Karachi and incumbent Chancellor, Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair congratulated the graduating students, faculty and the vice chancellor for holding the largest convocation of the country.

“It’s a great honour for me to come to my alma mater as a chancellor. KU is one of the most distinguished academic institutions of the country and is already my top priority. The federal government has approved establishment of a medical college and hospital at the University of Karachi in the Karachi package, which was announced by the prime minister. The federal government will continue supporting the Karachi University.”

He announced that the ground breaking ceremony for the medical college and hospital would be held in a month. “It is heartening to see a majority of female students among the graduating student. This is a sign that in Pakistan women are empowered. Seventy-five to 80 percent of students in varsities are girls. Only 15 percent of girls continue their professional lives, while the rest leave their careers. This is disheartening. It’s the moral responsibility of our female graduates to pay back to the society after completion of their education,” he added.

Lauding the efforts of Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan, the governor said two convocations were held in a short span of one year. “The positive change is visible. The faculty must support Dr Ajmal Khan in his initiatives, which will prove to be vital for varsity’s progress in the long run,” he said.

Zubair said, “Whenever you will ensure transparency, you will face opposition. Today, parents deserve all the appreciation. They are happy today seeing their students graduate. Faculty members are not the most rewarded people in the country, but they must be given the due credit for training their students.”

KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ajmal Khan said, “I have made changes to improve working of the administration. Without a full time director of finance, we worked very hard to improve our fiscal conditions. We took several positive measures that made a great difference, including installation of water meters, which saved Rs75 million per year in bills. We are working on several aspects to bring financial stability.”

He thanked the governor for convincing the federal government to include a medical complex at the KU in the Karachi package. He said, “Our Asian ranking has improved from 251 to 125 and this is a great achievement in such a short span of time. At least 1,700 research papers of the KU faculty were published this year in journals of international repute.

“We are also streamlining the examination department. We have already dented the old system and we hope to eradicate the malpractice from the examination department for good. I promised teachers at the last convocation that their pending selection boards will be held. I am delighted to inform them that cases pending since 2012-2013 are almost done and hope to finish the remaining selection boards soon. We also took a more formidable challenge to conduct admissions online and we were successful. This initiative enabled students to submit their applications from their homes and they did not have to come to university and stand in long queues,” Dr Khan informed the audience.

He thanked the chief minister of Sindh. “I am also indebted to the chief minister of Sindh for approving a project costing Rs520 million to improve our water and sewerage system. He provided Rs100 million grant to support our budget during the last fiscal year. This year, he has also approved Rs200 million for us and we expect to receive the payment shortly. I have heard that a summary of Rs500 million is on his table and I am sure that he will approve this too. I would like to thank the honourable chief minister for his kind help and support to KU,” he said.

“A developing country could only become developed if it invests in science. The governments need to invest sustainably for at least three decades in promoting and sustaining the science culture in Pakistan. This would lead to quality science and eventually will produce technology that will make this country rich.”