KARACHI: Girl students outshone boys at the NED University of Engineering and Technology convocation held on Thursday on the university campus where they clinched all the three top positions in nine departments and were awarded gold medals in 14 of the 22 disciplines.

More than 1,900 students received their degrees at the 24th convocation of the university, which was attended by a large number of graduating students, their parents and teachers.

Briefing the audience on the history and achievements of the university, Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Afzal Haque said the educational institution had been contributing to national human resource development for the past nine decades.

“This institution was actually founded in 1922 when the British administration was in need of civil engineers for the construction of the Sukkur barrage. Ever since, graduates of this university have been delivering their services for the country in different fields,” he said.

Senate chief praises minorities’ role in nation building

The institution which started its journey as a modest college offering undergraduate civil engineering courses had now grown into a reputed university offering 28 undergraduate, 47 master’s and doctoral programmes, he said.

Towards the end of his speech, Dr Haque briefly talked about the financial problems the university had been facing for some years and said though the administration had kept its expenditures very basic, the rising cost of various entities, inputs and services had cast a negative impact on its financial performance. The university spent over Rs170,000 a student a year.

“I appeal to all relevant quarters of the government, members of the business and philanthropic communities to extend financial assistance to help the university pursue its academic goals,” he said.

Speaking as the chief guest, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani congratulated students on their success and urged them to serve the country that provided them the opportunity to acquire professional skills.

“As you enter a new era of your life, you have a big responsibility to shoulder and that is to lead Pakistan, a country marred by terrorism, rampant corruption and conflicts on ethnic grounds. But, then, the question is do we let the status quo continue or try to change the situation we are in?” he said, adding that the nation was at a crossroads and all routes except one led to destruction.

He asked students to be part of the change the country needed the most. “I will request you and other professionals to work for the country because if society continued to experience brain drain, the status quo will not change,” he said.

Senator Rabbani also acknowledged contributions of religious minorities and said the nation should be grateful to those communities as they helped build Pakistan, especially by setting up great institutions like the NED university.

Girls shine

Girl students claimed first positions in the departments of civil engineering, electrical engineering, electronic engineering, telecommunication engineering, textile engineering, urban engineering, materials engineering, software engineering, construction engineering, food engineering, biomedical engineering (bio stream and medical stream), computer science and information technology and architecture.

“I have been creative and have had an interest in the models of buildings since my childhood and when I chose this subject, I received full support from my parents,” said Hafiza Sana Rauf, the only girl in her class of 19 students, who received two gold medals and a merit certificate in the construction engineering department.

Male colleagues, she said, were initially cooperative but when they saw her continued good performance, they also showed some jealousy. ”But I was always tolerant towards them. Consistent hard work and positive thinking is the key to success.”

Tooba Zaman, recipient of two gold medals and a merit certificate in the electrical engineering department, said she wouldn’t suggest to other girls to choose her field as it had limited scope for girls owing to the practical nature of work.

“I know I will have problems in getting a job but I am prepared for the struggle and will try my best to prove myself,’’ she said, adding that it was important to be passionate to excel in any field.

Zeeshan Khalid, recipient of two gold medals and a merit certificate in the polymer and petrochemical engineering department, said: “The field has a great scope for both girls and boys in Pakistan. My parents want me to join the family business but I plan to work in my professional field for some time as this way I will learn a lot of things.”

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2016