ISLAMABAD - As many as 93 MBBS students of Shifa College of Medicine and 18 BS nursing students of Shifa College for Nursing received degrees in the convocation.
It was the first convocation of Shifa College of Medicine and Shifa College of Nursing after their affiliation with Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University (STMU).
The first position in the MBBS examination went to Dr Qurat-ul-Ain Ijaz, second to Dr Sidra Chaudhry and third to Dr Saneeya Nasim. Dr Zaheer Ahmed Gold Medal was awarded to Quainyat Amin Khan, Dr Mohammad Amin Gold Medal went to Eeman Tariq, and Dr Nazir Ahmed Gold Medal and Dr Sayyed Tauqir A Shah Gold Medal for Qurat-ul-Ain Ijaz.
President Mamnoon Hussain who awarded the degrees and medals to the students also awarded five distinctions to students of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), three distinctions for Post-RN BSN. The gold medal went to Sadia Wali for achieving 81.3 per cent marks and one silver medal to Shah Qasim for 78 per cent in professional examinations of post-RN BSN. The first position went to Hajira Gul and second to Shah Qasim.
The President congratulated the 11th graduating class of Shifa College of Medicine and the 7th graduating class of Shifa College of Nursing, and particularly those earned gold and silver medals and other distinctions on their outstanding academic achievements.
Addressing the convocation at the Pak-China Friendship centre, the President highlighted the need to invest in the most critical areas of health and education said it was imperative to make the country economically prosperous. The President said that Pakistan was fortunate that a large and overwhelming segment of its population comprises of youth. “If trained and educated properly with relevant professional skills and values, we can use this huge potential to transform this country into a flourishing economy.”
In this regard the President said the universities and colleges, especially the higher educational and professional institutions have a critical role to play in imparting quality education specially in the disciplines like medical, allied health sciences, engineering, IT, management and social sciences.
He also stressed the need for promoting girls education and urged parents to pay special attention to the education of girls as an educated mother can groom future generation.
He appreciated Shifa family for its continuous contribution to in the society and said the government welcomes private investment in health and education sectors, as investment in these sectors was imperative for socio-economic prosperity.
Earlier, Vice Chancellor STMU Prof Dr Kamran Jahangir in his address congratulated the graduating students, their parents, faculty and the management. He said Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University was a continuation of the vision of those who came back from abroad leaving behind good jobs and comfortable life.
He paid rich tribute to founder of Shifa Family, Late Dr Zaheer Ahmad for his remarkable contribution to the society. The VC said the graduates were some of the brightest and best who had been taught in a world class institution offering the most modern curriculum, taught through an interactive method. They have been trained in Shifa International Hospital, one of the best tertiary care hospitals in the country. He advised the students that they must not forget that they had been taught to help the suffering humanity and help people lead a healthy and pain free life.
Besides parents, faculty members and the students, Chancellor Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University Prof Dr Muhammad Ata, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Kamran Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer Shifa International Hospital Dr Manzoor-ul-Haq Qazi and Chiarman Shifa International Hospital Dr Habib-ur-Rehman attended the event.