Into the real world: KU hands out degrees to nearly 5,000 students

Varsity has the honour of having the highest enrolment of students in entire province.

KARACHI: At its 24th convocation on Thursday, Sindh’s largest varsity, the University of Karachi (KU), handed out degrees to nearly 5,000 students.

Some 118 gold medals were awarded to the best graduating students in nine faculties, including arts, science, law, management and administrative sciences, medicine, pharmacy, engineering Islamic studies, and education.



“It’s the greatest feeling ever,” remarked Sadaf Ahmed Khan, a mass communication student who received a gold medal. “This honour is something that you carry for the rest of your life. I must confess that KU has given me the platform to utilise my capabilities to their maximum level.”

Yet again, the chancellor of the university, Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ebad Khan, was prominent by his absence. This was the sixth consecutive convocation that he had been unable to attend despite being invited to preside it over. The provincial education minister, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, however, received this honour instead.

For the grand event, nearly a quarter of the campus, which is spread over 1,279 acres, was adorned with mercury bulbs, varsity ensigns and pennons, right from the entrance gate to the Valika Cricket Stadium — the venue where a marquee was set up to accommodate the guests.

“Convocation is a major academic milestone in an individual’s life and a formal recognition that you are ready to move a step forward toward acquiring yet more knowledge in the area of your choice,” pointed out KU vice-chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser in his convocation address. “Never in the past have there been so much hope and expectation with the youth about the future of Pakistan than at present. The road ahead is long but, with dedication and hard work, the journey promises to be exciting.”

For Prof Dr Qaiser, the university saw a significant era of growth in almost all academic disciplines, research and infrastructural development. “One of the most impressive facts is that the research and academic output of the university is well recognised globally,” he said. “Since its inception, the university has produced over 2,000 PhDs in almost every discipline of study while the academics and researchers at the university have published around 1,700 research articles in reputed journals during the last four years.”

Prof Dr Qaiser said that KU was ranked among the top 400 institutions of the world from a pool of 30,000 in the fields of arts and humanities, life sciences and social sciences - making it the second university in the country to achieve the honour. He was referring to the Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds world university rankings

Education minister Khuhro said that it is the time to think about how well our education system prepares its millions of youth for a productive future because it will profoundly impact the country’s internal stability and security. “All of us must be aware of the fact that almost half of Pakistan’s 185-million population is under the age of 17.”

Khuhro also announced a grant of Rs5 million for the establishment of a television studio at the university’s mass communication department.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2014.

Slideshow: Ends and beginnings - KU's 24th convocation