Voice of education: Sindh Madressatul Islam University to launch its own FM Radio channel

Test transmission will start in Ramazan, followed by regular transmission from August 14.

KARACHI:

Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) has acquired an FM Radio licence with a 96.6 frequency from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).

Pemra acting chairperson Mohammad Pervaiz Rathore issued the licence in Islamabad to SMIU vice-chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh. The radio will be a part of the Media Studies Department of SMIU and will be used to train students as well working journalists in broadcast journalism.

Dr Shaikh said that the test transmission of the radio will start in Ramazan and the regular transmission will begin from August 14. The radio channel will work for the promotion of education in the country and broadcast academic activities of Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, the education departments of all the provincial governments, different universities, colleges and other educational institutions.

Dr Shaikh further said profiles and interviews of prominent scholars, academicians, philosophers, poets and other related persons of the country will also be broadcasted.

The radio channel will also broadcast cultural segments, which include broadcasting lyrics of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, Baba Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid, Allama Iqbal, Asadullah Ghalib, Faiz Ahmed Faiz and others. Rathore said that he hoped that SMIU’s radio channel will play a significant role in promotion of education in the country and that it will set an example for other universities.

SMIU has already set up a modern radio studio in its main campus and experienced personnel have been hired to run it.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2014.