KARACHI: Some 378 students were awarded degrees at the 12th convocation of Ziauddin University (ZU) at the Expo Centre here on Wednesday as Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, the chief guest, announced a generous grant for liver transplantation research at the university.

“Pakistanis spend millions of rupees to go to India for liver transplants so it is important we develop this expertise here,” he said. “For this I am announcing a Rs50 million grant initially. And I will give more money if you need it once you begin the work,” he added.

Congratulating the students, the chief minister said that their real challenge starts now and that they should think about serving the ailing people rather than getting jobs in big private hospitals. “Medicine is a pious profession and it demands selflessness of you. Sindh needs efficient and capable doctors. We had employed more than a hundred doctors in Tharparkar but 80 per cent of them remained absent with only 20 or so actually working there. For their carelessness the blame fell on the government during the drought and famine. That’s when I immediately employed 70 doctors.

“My government intends to induct 700 more doctors. Frankly, I think that all new doctors should at least work for the government for two years and ask to be posted in the rural areas where their work would be appreciated even more,” the chief minister said.

Former governor of Sindh, retired Lt Gen Moinuddin Haider in his keynote address asked the students to realise how lucky they were to be the best human resource in Pakistan. “But getting the degree is not the end of your academic career but its start as you need to constantly upgrade your knowledge and keep abreast with latest research,” he said.

The university vice chancellor, Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, meanwhile, shared that ZU was in the W4 category and among the top private-sector universities of Pakistan while its faculty of medicine was fifth in 89 medical institutions across the country. Saying this, he stressed the need for more private professional colleges and universities in Pakistan.

All the speakers at the convocation reminded the gathering of the great contributions of the renowned mathematician and vice chancellor and rector of the Aligarh Muslim University Sir Dr Ziauddin Ahmad after whom the university and affiliated hospitals have been named.

The university chancellor and grandson of Sir Dr Ziauddin Ahmad, Dr Asim Hussain, spoke about his grandfather’s liberal thought. “It was thanks to his liberal thinking that after getting the charter of Aligarh Muslim University he was able to enlighten Muslim men, who were living in darkness,” he said. “You cannot have a vibrant civil society without liberal and critical thinking. Those living in the past cannot move forward,” he added.

About the setting up of the ZU, the chancellor recalled that it came about amid strong opposition for private-sector higher education institutions from the government in 2005. “But it was needed as the government itself couldn’t deliver such kind of quality education,” he said, adding that the government really ought to revamp its education system. “The old curricula needs to change. If you don’t upgrade your Matric and Intermediate system, then the O-Level and A-Levels will prevail. What’s taking us back here is the people working for education who really don’t want to think or work,” he pointed out.

The university that has ‘knowledge and beyond’ as its motto would be expanding according to its chancellor. “We would be building a 200-bed, 18-storey building on National Highway. Also, 46 acres of land has been reserved in Sukkur for building a hospital and college there. In Islamabad, too, where we have 150 canals of land, we would be starting work on similar lines. And in six months, we would be going international by opening the first polyclinic diagnostic centre in Dubai,” he disclosed.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2015

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