Providing education to youth a wise investment: Kausar

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar has said, providing education to youth especially in the stream of higher learning is a wise investment; a best contribution for image building of the country; a noble service to humanity and truly in line with the dreams of the Father of the Nation. Addressing as the chief guest at the 5th Convocation of Hazara University at its Main Campus in Mansehra on Sunday, the Governor further pointed out, that the purpose oriented and meaningful research activities through linkages with industries are the predominant characteristics of the modern age and there is a need to further concentrate on developing the dynamics of research and academic excellence, relevant to the modern and rapidly changing lifestyle. In all 612 graduates, 58 got gold medals for achieving distinctive positions in Genetics, Botany, Chemistry, Physics, Bio-Chemistry, Microbiology, Computer Science, Psychology, Archeology, Journalism & Mass Communication, Economics, Mathemetics, Islamiayat, English, Pushto, Urdu, Environmental Sciences, and Conservation Studies. Sahib Gul Afridi of Khyber Agency got the honour of being the first Ph.D scholar from the University in Genetics and also bagged gold medal for his distinctive position. Advisor to Prime Minister, Syed Qasim Shah, Minister of State, Sardar Shahjehan Yousaf and the provincial minister for Higher Education, Qazi Muhammad Asad Khan also attended the ceremony. Barrister Masood Kausar said, universities have been playing a decisive role for economic prosperity and social well-being of the people especially in the industrialized world and in our country too, the system of education, needs to be responsive to solve the confronting problems of life; ensure a stable society and better future for the coming generations. “There exists, tremendous expectations from the institutions of higher learning in this respect in our province too”, he remarked.In a vastly attended gathering, including heads of almost all the institutions of higher learning of the province, Barrister Masood Kausar said, “the universities should be the fountains of wisdom and the pillars of strength for the nation, and the scholars and researchers ought to provide the roadmap with clearly defined objectives for the society to achieve scientific ingenuity both as a source of power for economic prosperity and national security”. He further pointed out, ignorance and illiteracy, no doubt are the major social evils threatening the society in many ways and we need to focus on building of our universities to a level where they could contribute significantly towards sustainable development of the people and poverty alleviation. The Governor appreciated the working of the Hazara University and said that keeping in view the ground realities, its bold and courageous steps to build up its academic, administrative and research infrastructure, publication of research papers and books; carrying out collaborative research programs; holding of seminars and symposia and managing guest lectures are really the remarkable contributions. The ranking status of this University as NO.3 at the Provincial level and No.16 at the National level, he added, clearly depicts the achievement in this respect. He also assured to help in materializing the incomplete construction projects; as well as the proposed projects for its sub campuses at Haripur and Havelian.Pointing towards the graduates the Governor said that they have to prove their worth in the job market; be relevant and useful to serve Pakistan and deliver best services in the field of their specializations. ”The nation needs academically strong and creative youths to carry forward the motherland into 21st century with all its attending blessings of the modern world”, he said. Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the University while welcoming the guests especially thanked the Governor for gracing the occasion despite rough weather because of torrential rains. The university, which, he said, started with seven faculty members and 57 students has now more than seven thousand students enrolled at its three campuses alongwith 290 faculty members including 65 Ph.D scholars. 25 Ph.D scholars, he added, will shortly join the campuses after completing their higher studies abroad. Three scientists of the University, he said, have been recognized productive scholars at the national level this year whereas, 125 research publications have been produced by the university.