Sindh governor says he understands public universities' problems

Wants to resolve them by leading a delegation of VCs for meetings with federal govt

KARACHI: Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair has acknowledged that public-sector universities in Sindh are confronted with financial, land, security, transport and other impediments.

Speaking at a ceremony at Sindh University (SU) in Jamshoro on Saturday, the governor assured that he will take up these issues with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) as well as on other relevant forums.

According to a press release issued by SU, Zubair offered to lead a delegation of vice-chancellors for meetings with the federal authorities. He said that he visited Jamshoro's three universities on Saturday to learn about their problems so that he could play his part in assisting the higher education institutions.

It was the governor's first visit to the education city in Jamshoro after assuming the gubernatorial office.



SU's vice-chancellor Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat said while the provincial HEC remains dysfunctional, the varsities were dependent on the federal HEC for budgetary allocations. He also elaborated how the land, transport and infrastructure problems were affecting academic activities at SU.

At Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), the governor performed the inauguration of an advanced diagnostic and research centre, working women's hostel and community health FM radio station. He noted that creating health awareness through regular radio transmission will be pivotal for prevention and helping the people adopt a healthy lifestyle.

"[Awareness] regarding preventive measures for health may save billions of rupees spent on [treatment] of the diseases," he said. The governor also appreciated LUMHS for building the working women's hostel.



According to the dean of community medicine, Prof Dr Aneela Attaur Rehman, the community FM radio station, whose frequency is 96.6, will run an eight-hour transmission from 8am to 4pm with back-to-back health awareness programmes. The hostel, she said, consists of 200 rooms, which can be rented to any professional rather than just to doctor.

"This is the first time in Sindh's history that we [LUMHS] have provided a platform to our doctors, surgeons and researchers to educate our nation about general health issues and prevention through the mass media," said LUMHS VC Prof Dr Noshad A Shaikh.