CM inaugurates first-ever technical varsity in Lahore

Says 60% of the province consists of youth who have the potential to change future

LAHORE: The inaugural ceremony of the Punjab Tianjin University of Technical Education (PTUT) was held at its campus in Township, Lahore. Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to the participants of the ceremony via video link.

Speaking at the inauguration from London, Sharif said that out of the 20 million population of the province, more than 60% were youth. “To secure the future of the youth, technology-based education is needed,” he said. He added that they had the skill and potential to change the fate of the nation.

He said that to impart quality technical education, institutions like the PTUT were needed all over the country. “Such institutions are the need of the hour,” he added. The CM said educational entities should be modernised through technology and the youth.

“If the technological revolution we are bringing today 70 years ago, think of where our country would have been. If we are able to succeed in making such institutions, the revolution will be unstoppable”.

Sharif appealed to students, teachers, doctors, scientists, generals and judges to come together and build the foundation of a new Pakistan. “Everyone should rise beyond personalities and unite to work to make the country great. Other than this, there is no other way to development and progress.”

The CM said that all the institutions of the country needed to work with mutual understanding, while respecting parliament and its rights. “The judiciary should be respected as must its right to the interpretation of the Constitution. Pakistan Army’s sacrifices to end terrorism and bring peace to the country are unparalleled,” the CM said.



“Any lack of rapprochement between the institutions would be detrimental to the needs and requirements of national security. We should only think of the future of the country by setting aside our personal likes and dislikes,” he added. Shehbaz continued that the country required unity and there was a need to convert tensions between the institutions to understanding and cooperation.

He thanked the Chinese government, Tianjin University syndicate, educational experts of Punjab and his team members who worked hard to set up of PTUT in the short span of a few months. “Today was an important day from many reasons. “March 23 is celebrated fervently in Pakistan every year. Muslims of the subcontinent gathered at Minto Park 77 years ago and vowed to get a separate homeland under the leadership of Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Muslims from different walks of life gathered at the place of Minar-e-Pakistan under the leadership of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and launched a historical struggle for a separate homeland”.

The CM said, “Today is important from another aspect as we have achieved yet another milestone after 77 years with the inauguration of PTUT. It is the pioneering, technical and skills based university where students from across the country will be admitted in graduate and technology courses”. He said that the Punjab government had taken unprecedented steps during the last 9 and a half years for improving the education sector and establishment of PTUT was a part of these efforts. He said that establishment of most modern educational institutions is an important development towards transforming Pakistan

Chinese Consul General in Lahore Long Dingbin, PTUT acting Vice Chancellor Dr Fazal Ahmad and Project Director Mufti Hashim addressed the meeting. Provincial Ministers Sheikh Allauddin and Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Chairman Dr Umar Saif, Chief Secretary, provincial secretaries and heads of Chinese institutions attended the meeting.

The PTUT has been set up at a temporary campus in Township Lahore, whereas the permanent premises would be constructed on Raiwind Road Lahore. An agreement was signed between the Tianjin University of Technology & Education (TUTE), China and Punjab Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority (TEVTA) on May 17, 2017.

An Ordinance for the PTUT was promulgated on November 17, 2017. The campus has been established at a cost of Rs96.167 million, whereas a request for the release of Rs995 million has been approved for the varsity’s first year of operation.

The PTUT has enrolled 288 students enrolled in seven different technologies, whereas Chinese faculty, including Deans and head of departments (HoDs), for three different faculties and seven departments have joined the varsity. The session of the PTUT started from March 19, 2018.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 24^th, 2018.