The Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur has embarked upon its yearly talent hunt to enroll students who are academically gifted but cannot afford the cost of attending university. Students are selected through an analysis of their financial means and their scores in entrance tests.
Around 500 such students are currently enrolled in the five-month-long foundation semester for the Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelors of Science (BS) programmes at IBA, Sukkur. Director Financial Assistance University Advancement and Career Development Altaf Hussain Samo told The Express Tribune that this programme is the brainchild of IBA director Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui, who wished to incorporate gifted students from rural areas into the university so that they would be able to acquire quality education and secure their future.
The programme, which initially started in the academic year 2008-09, is designed so that there is adequate representation of both men and women. The students selected to receive the entire scholarship are first enrolled in a foundation programme, which runs for five months and during which students are taught English, mathematics, general knowledge and are trained on computer skills. Exams are held at the end of every month, with a final exam at the end of the semester. Those students who manage to qualify are given admission in either the BBA or BS programme.
Hussain Samo said that in the first year of the programme, approximately 2,200 students from across Sindh appeared in the entrance test, out of which 300 were selected. In the current year, there were more than 4,000 students who took the test, hence the scope and outreach has almost doubled. Most students hail from Sukkur, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Naushahro Feroze, Ghotki, Kashmore and Jacobabad districts. The entire cost of the four-year course is approximately Rs800,000, including tuition, books, boarding and lodging, said Samo.
Sunaina, a resident of Sukkur, is one of the girls going through the foundation semester. While talking to The Express Tribune, she said that her father is a clerk in a government hospital and she never even dreamt that she would one day have the opportunity of studying at IBA Sukkur. “One of my cousins told me about this programme, after which I took the test in November 2010 and was one of the lucky few selected,” said a visibly delighted Sunaina.
Similarly, Yasir Mustafa, a resident of Larkana, also belongs to a family with a low-income background. His father runs a tyre shop. “We are eight brothers and sisters,” said Yasir. “With such a big family and limited income, it was impossible for me to think about a degree at IBA.” However, Yasir was also selected to take part in the foundation semester after clearing his admission test and he is well on his way to achieving what he previously thought would be impossible.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2011.
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