ZU set to begin its second faculty in Education City

Around 26 other universities have acquired land in the city

KARACHI: Ziauddin University (ZU) laid the foundations for its second educational block in Education City on Tuesday. The new block will house the faculty of pharmacy and is expected to cater to 750 students. Till date, Ziauddin University is the only institution offering classes to students in the Education City project which was initiated with an ambitious vision in 2001.

The Sindh Cabinet proposed the idea of building an 'Education City' in Karachi, similar to the Dubai International Academic City, in 2001. The idea was to establish a city with multiple educational institutions - the one in Dubai boasts 25 internationally acclaimed universities.

According to Pirzada Qasim, the Vice Chancellor of Ziauddin University, the project was revived in 2004. The Education City is located in Malir district linked with the highway. Universities were asked to send forth their proposals for establishing their campuses within the city. However, it wasn't till 2012-13 that universities began expressing interest in the project and a plan was developed for the city. And it wasn't till 17 years after its conception that actual academic activity began on the campus.

First varsity

In March 2018, ZU started its engineering faculty within Education City.



The foundation stone of the second building for the pharmacy faculty was laid on Tuesday by ZU Chancellor Dr Asim Hussain and Hilton Pharma Chairperson Sardar Yasin Malik. The building spread over 7,500 square feet will cater to education of pharmacy and is expected to facilitate 750 students.

The engineering block is already functional since 2018 and other departments are expected to shift here as well. Dr Hussain said that the aim was to register 20,000 students in the next 10 years. He added that the pharmacy block will have 150 students in every batch.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, students present at the facility said that they appreciated the peaceful environment that Education City offered as it was away from the city. They added that the remote location might be a matter of concern for some people as it was away from the city, but they preferred the serenity it offered and expressed the hope that other varsities would also construct their campuses in the city. The students said that they gather at a designated point in North Karachi and from there they reach Eucation Cty in 30 to 40 minutes.

Other campuses

Around 26 universities have acquired land in the city. These include Aga Khan University, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Quaid-e-Azam Public School - a project of the Sindh madrassah board, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Habib University Foundation, Newport Institution of Communication and Economics, Dow University of Health Sciences and the judicial academy of Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2019.