Ziauddin University students show appreciation for teachers

VC says a teacher’s job also involves grooming young minds.

KARACHI: The key to a nation’s bright future lies in the hands of good teachers—and it was with this in mind that students, volunteers and teachers of Ziauddin University gathered at the varsity’s Clifton campus on Monday.

The students wanted to give back to their teachers and had organised an event with the Express Media Group’s Aao Parhao initiative. The event kicked off with the campaign’s official soundtrack followed by a recitation from the Holy Quran and national anthem.



The university’s vice chancellor, Dr Pirzada Qasim, shared a bit of his 47 years in the teaching business and said that teachers were the most important part of a society. “They don’t just teach students,” he said. “Teachers have the ability of giving students a new life, perspective — a new way to look at and understand things.” He added that the world had changed because of teachers.

Addressing the students, Dr Qasim said that they should consider themselves amongst the privileged as there was a time many people did not have access to formal education and had to travel miles just to get to school.

“People should enter this profession out of choice, because they want to teach and groom young minds,” he told teachers. “This will help them stay committed to their profession.” He added that students these days were lucky that they had access to a lot of resources.

The vice chancellor got a little nostalgic when he started to think about his own school and college days. He said that when he was a student, young people were driven and were more serious about their education. He added that people respected their teachers then, and still do.

“For a university student, a teacher is more like an older sibling,” he said. “They can discuss anything from education to life with them openly.”

Mohsin Laghari, the marketing head of the Aao Parhao campaign, presented teachers with certificates and awards of recognition. “While interviewing teachers for this campaign, I learnt how much effort and research teachers put into just one class,” he said. “It is phenomenal.”

According to the university’s brand ambassador, Verda Nadeem, the campaign was about promoting education and getting more young people to join the field. “I am really happy with the feedback from my fellow students,” said Nadeem. “The Aao Parhao campaign is very effective and will give good results in future.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 3^rd, 2015.