Graduation ceremony: PM announces Rs10m for NCA endowment

‘Pakistan’s most creative minds’ get degrees at NCA convocation.

LAHORE:

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani announced Rs10 million for employee pensions and Rs10 million for the endowment fund at the 12th Convocation of the National College of Arts (NCA) University here at the Expo Centre on Sunday.

The endowment fund pays for scholarships for poor students. The funds will also be used for the restoration and conservation of the historic college building on The Mall.

The prime minister congratulated the 316 bachelor’s and 70 master’s graduates for finishing their degrees. “Yours are the most creative minds in the country,” he said, to loud approval from the audience of students and their proud parents. Gilani said that the university would remain under the federal government even though education had been devolved as a provincial subject. He said that more teachers would be hired as the NCA began more masters-level courses. The extra security for the event caused a three-hour delay (see box), but the audience managed to keep in good humour. They laughed when one student received his degree and then proceeded to moonwalk in celebration.

Master’s degrees were awarded to students of interior design and multimedia arts and bachelor’s degrees to architecture, communication design, fine arts, textile design, product design, ceramics, interior design, musicology and film and television students.

Twenty-eight students were awarded for getting on the Principal’s Honour list. Also handed out were the Chughtai Award for design, Bhai Ram Singh Award for highest aggregate, Shakir Ali Award for fine arts, Haji Shareef Award for miniatures, Perci Brown Award for arts history, Saadat Hassan Manto Award for drama and a puppetry award. Kardar gold medals were presented to over 20 students.

Students from the NCAU’s Rawalpindi campus also attended the convocation. The parents and students will attend a convocation dinner at NCAU on Monday.

FCC’s 147th convocation

Meanwhile, at the Forman Christian College (FCC) University’s 147th Convocation also on Saturday, former ambassador Jamsheed Marker said that Lahore had become less diverse.

“Things have changed drastically and choices have become a lot more complex for students compared to my years at college in the 1940s. There were students from diverse backgrounds and religions then but there was no discrimination,” he said.

Marker, an FCC alum, recalled his experiences as a student. “I used to live in a rented house in Garden Town with two Muslim, one Parsi and two Hindu housemates. Now, a dozen citizens are killed every day in the name of religion,” he said.

He refused, however, to conclude that there was no hope. “I am happy that after a long journey we have a free judiciary that is performing better than ever before,” he said.

A total of 382 degrees were awarded on the occasion including bachelors, masters and MPhils. Dr Hamid Saeed from the FCC faculty opened the event followed by a valedictory address by Usman Zia, the winner of the Sir Mian M Shafi Medal, the Khan Bahadur Muhammad Sanaullah Medal and the Dr ED Lucas Medal. Rector Peter H Armacost said that the college had produced remarkable graduates over the years who were now representing Pakistan across the world.

Later, Dr Marcia Grant, the vice rector, distributed awards among distinguished students. Toppers in various disciplines were Maria Hussain, Usman Zia Khan, Ayesha Sadaf, Mubeen Iqbal, Hafiza Madeha Khaliq, Bilal Jahangir, Jawad Tariq Awan, Bahawal Shahryar, Fizza Ali Shah, Meerab Abdia, Syeda Fatima Zehra Naqvi, Sheikh Osama Hafeez, Amoon Jawaid Austin, Romel John and Romman James.

Frisked and frustrated: Tough security causes three-hour delay

Students and parents at the National College of Arts University Convocation on Sunday were made to undergo extensive security checks that delayed the event by three hours.

Extra security measures were put in place for the event as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Governor Sardar Latif Khosa were the chief guests. Visitors were not allowed to take cameras, mobile phones   even water bottles   inside.

The delays and checking soured tempers, even among parents who had come to celebrate their children’s special day. “People have been quarrelling at the main gate,” said one parent.

“We have been checked again and again and then had our mobiles, cameras and water taken away. This is very poor management.”

Other parents complained that they had hoped to see their children go up on stage and claim their degrees from the prime minister, but only the students who won awards or honours were called up.

with Additional reporting by our correspondent

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2011.

CORRECTION

We ran a story on June 27, PM announces Rs244m for NCA endowment. Unfortunately, that amount is inaccurate. The National College of Arts has informed us that the prime minister had announced a Rs10 million grant for the endowment fund. Any inconvenience is regretted.