200 students awarded degrees at first convocation

No govt official attended ceremony of first university named after Benazir

KARACHI: The first convocation of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, Lyari (BBSUL) was held at the Karachi Expo Centre on Monday. Degrees were awarded to over 200 students from various disciplines, including business administration, computer science, information technology and commerce.

The students of the English and education departments were also awarded degrees, while medals for outstanding academic performance were awarded to 30 students.

An outstanding performance medal was won by a student who tragically passed away five months ago after a long battle with thalassemia. The girl, Salwa, won a gold medal for coming first in the varsity's Masters of Commerce programme. The entire hall broke into a round of applause as Salwa's father collected her medal.

"She was just 11 months old when we learnt about her thalassemia," Sattar told Express News. We tried to hide her disease and remained focused on getting her educated, he said, adding that his daughter was a genius who would bag the first position in each grade.



"She kept working hard at her studies and has finally received the fruit of her determination. I would have been happier if she could receive this honour herself. She would have been euphoric to see this moment," he said, adding that his feelings of joy were mixed with sorrow.

He added that although Salwa's health had been deteriorating, she could have lived longer. "She was afflicted with thalassemia as an infant. We initially got her treated in the United Arab Emirates and when we moved to Pakistan, we continued her treatment. Sadly, she succumbed to her illness, leaving us grieved," he shared.

Salwa was the eldest sibling with dreams of working for a reputed organisation, her father said, adding that his daughter wanted to serve society as well as support her parents.

The varsity's first convocation saw an extraordinary regard for the promotion of the national language. All announcements of the event as well as the speech of the vice-chancellor (VC) were made in Urdu.



In his speech, the VC said the university was established to pursue the ideology and vision of the late Benazir Bhutto. "The purpose of the university is to provide higher education opportunities to students of marginalised communities, including those residing in Lyari and other low-income areas of Sindh," he said.

"We are determined to bring Lyari into the economic, cultural and social mainstream of society," the VC shared, appreciating the presence of over 40% female students on campus.

The university was established in 2012, five years after the assassination of Benazir. The Act for the university was passed by the Sindh Assembly in 2010. "The Sindh government has promised to allot us 200 acres of land. However, so far, the promise has not been given any serious consideration. I am hopeful that the future government will consider the issue seriously and finalise the promised allotment," he said.



The VC lamented the lack of transport for the university, saying that the buses available on campus were not able to meet the students' requirements. "Over 700 students of the university come from Malir and Memon Goth," he said, adding that the administration had already made a request for more buses from the provincial government.

The VC congratulated the outgoing students and hoped that in addition to getting good employment opportunities, they will use their degree in the larger interest of the country and society.

The convocation was not attended by any minister or provincial secretary, showing disregard to the first university named after Benazir.