Educationist Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui passes away

IBA Sukkur VC was dedicated to providing equitable, high-quality education in Sindh

KARACHI: Educationist and vice-chancellor (VC) of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui passed away on Monday. He was 76.

According to his family members, Siddiqui was suffering from heart and kidney problems and was admitted to the hospital last week, where he died Monday morning. He was laid to rest at the IBA varsity premises in Sukkur the same night.

Born in Piryalo, Khairpur district, Siddiqui, who was a former Sukkur commissioner, dedicated much of his life to education, providing opportunities for equitable and quality schooling for students in rural Sindh. Recognising his valuable services for the education sector, the federal government recently honoured him with a Sitara-e-Imtiaz.

He laid the foundation for IBA Sukkur in 1994. Starting with just two classrooms of a public school, he transformed the university to a state-of-the-art campus that has been ranked among the country's top educational institutions.

Upon retirement from government service, he was appointed the varsity's director in 2004. With his utmost efforts, it became an interdependent degree-awarding institution in 2006 after a bill was passed in the Sindh Assembly. When the institute acquired the status of a full-fledged university in 2017, he became its founding VC.

He also pioneered the concept of community colleges in Pakistan. There are currently 13 community colleges and over 40 schools operating under the umbrella of IBA Sukkur.

He transformed IBA Sukkur into an institute symbolising merit, competence and innovation. During his tenure as the director, the university emerged as a leading institute of Sindh that attracted students and faculty from all areas of Pakistan.

After obtaining his Masters in Economics from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro, he initially taught mathematics, economics and English at a school for a decade. He then obtained another Masters degree in Education from the same university, before going on to serve as a civil servant. He further obtained his MBA from Boston University, following which he began teaching part-time at IBA Karachi.

The news of his passing was met with an outpouring of grief and condolences on social media, while the Sukkur district administration declared Tuesday as a local holiday in the district. In a notification, Sukkur deputy commissioner Rana Adeel Tassawur wrote, "His commitment to deliver quality education and his resolve to uplift the marginalised sections of society is indescribably in words."

Meanwhile, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ahsan Iqbal hailed him as a "modern day Sir Syed Ahmed for interior Sindh, where he created IBA as a world-class platform for higher and community learning," in a tweet.

Local journalist Sarfaraz Memon highlighted his attempts to create harmony among students from different provinces and spheres of life, saying that under his administration, a combination of students from the various provinces were made to share hostel rooms. "He referred to the students of the different provinces as a bouquet of flowers."

Siddiqui is survived by three sons and four daughters.