End of an era: Gomal University VC dies

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

Gomal University Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Dr Amanullah Akhtar died of cardiac arrest on Friday.

The professor was walking outside his residence in the university’s main campus when he suffered from the attack. It is said he was suffering from heart diseases for the past few years.

All activities at Gomal University were suspended as news of the VC’s death spread. Professor Dr Amanullah Akhtar was appointed VC on November 29 after Dr Mansoor Akbar Kundi resigned from the post. His funeral prayers were held at his hometown of Jhoke Mohazim, where university staff, literary figures and government officials participated.

Dr Akhtar is survived by a widow and two children.

A man of vision

Born in 1963, Professor Dr Amanullah Akhtar received his early education in DI Khan. In 1986, he got a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Lahore, from where he also completed his MSc (Hon) in Pathology in 2002. In 2012, he was awarded a PhD from the Faculty of Medicine at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Dr Akhtar was also honoured with the best PhD thesis award in this programme.

In 1987, Dr Akhtar worked as a veterinary officer in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Department of Livestock and Dairy Development. Later, he started teaching as a lecturer in Gomal University, where he was promoted to professor, and then principal in 2013.  Dr Akhtar was eventually appointed the VC.

As an administrator and academic, he is known to have shown great calibre and vision. He was a permanent member of the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council and was also given the award for Best Veterinarian Teacher in 2013.

During his tenure as VC, Dr Akhtar made improvements in the academic standard of Gomal University his first priority. The university has been going through a financial crisis since 2009, which Dr Akhtar helped to alleviate.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2013.