F.P. Report
PESHAWAR: Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Haji Ghulam Ali has said that students can play a key role in the development of the country and meeting the challenges faced by the nation. He was addressing the 6th convocation at the University of Malakand as chief guest here on Monday.
The caretaker minister Shafiullah Khan and vice chancellor Prof Dr Rashid Ahmad also addressed the function. The Governor awarded 173 students who graduated in BS, master, M.Phil and PhD courses with degrees while 59 students were awarded with gold medals.
Addressing the function the Governor said the students and researchers should focus on their studies as they were the real ambassadors of the country abroad.
He said that education was the only way out of all the basic problems and challenges faced by the nation. He said the students had the responsibility of taking the country out of the ignorance on their shoulders.
While congratulating the graduated students and their parents, he said that the literacy rate in Korea was 97 % while in Pakistan it was only 11 % ( 62.5 % in actual). The Governor announced the recruitment of one of the special persons at the varsity who also graduated from the University of Malakand.
Earlier addressing the function the VC Prof Dr Rashid Ahmad said the UoM started its journey in 2002 with less than two hundred students in only 7 disciplines but had progressed to achieve its goals and today it offered services in more than 70 programs at the undergraduate level in its 30 departments. He said that over 10,000 students were enrolled in the varsity.
The VC informed the chief guest about the needs of the university and demanded the regularization of contract employees, construction of a Jamia Masjid and provision of Sui gas and adequate funds for the purchase of five buses for the students.
The ANP senator Haji Hidayatullah Khan, provincial minister Hamid Shah, Pro Vice Chancellor UoM Prof Dr Attaur Rehman, registrar Hayatullah, faculty deans Prof Dr Jameel Ahmad, Deputy Commissioner Iftikhar Ahmed, DPO Tariq Iqbal, social and political activists were also present.
Later on talking to the media the Governor said the ball of elections for the provincial assembly was now in the court of the Supreme Court. He said that he had responded to the letter sent to him by the election commission of Pakistan regarding holding of the KP elections. The Governor said that the security situation in the province was not favourable for the elections and protecting human lives was more important. He said the ECP wanted 67000 security officials to perform duties during the election and in such conditions it was difficult to hold free and fair elections.
Meanwhile the Islami Jamiat Tulba, a students’ wing of the Jamaat-i-Islami condemned the UoM administration for closing the varsity for two days during the Governor’s visit. In a press release issued here on Monday the IJT provincial nazim Wasim Haidar said that it was pathetic to restrict students’ studies on the pretext of a VIP movement. He said the hostels were forcibly vacated from the students. He said the IJT strongly condemned the closure of the varsity for two days.
