PESHAWAR, April 7: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has stressed the need of working with a missionary zeal and promote specialized education in every field. He was speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Institute of Management Sciences here on Wednesday.

He said: "We need specialists at decision-making levels to find answers to our problems." While hinting at the upgradation of the institution to the level of a university within the next couple of years, he said: "In a country like Pakistan the subjects of management sciences and business administration are of crucial importance and we need to continue our efforts at excelling in them."

"Unfortunately," said the governor, "our dilemma is that our departments as well as the autonomous bodies lack proper management, knowledge and expertise, a failing which has adversely affected our abilities of perform."

Welcoming the achievements of the organization, especially the introduction of new disciplines as well as creation of its own campus, the governor said it had acquired respect and prestige by persistently adhering to the vision of its founding fathers.

"Institutions," he remarked, "do not build their reputation by merely providing quality infrastructure, rather it's the role they play to promote education that counts." "In fact," he added, "it is the sweat and toil of the faculty, which precedes everything else."

Nasir Ali Khan, Director of the Institute, said that his organization had flourished within a short span of time. "Our five teachers as well as three MBA graduates have been selected by the Higher Education Commission for Ph.D on scholarship basis."

Besides, he said, "we have also established linkages with three top-class British universities and efforts are also under way to develop contacts with more institutions of world renown."