PESHAWAR, Nov 27: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Syed Masood Kausar has said that a student affairs cell will be established at the Governor Secretariat to resolve genuine problems of the students of universities in the province. Addressing the convocation for session 2012 at University of Peshawar (UoP) here on Tuesday, he said that the issue of financial crisis of universities in the province would be taken up with the federal government.

According to a press release, 481 graduates including 11 M.Phil and 10 PhD students were awarded degrees on the occasion. Thirty-one students including 19 boys and 12 girls got gold medals for showing excellent results in various disciplines.

The governor said that after passage of 18th Amendment higher education had devolved to provinces so they must take the issue of financial crunch of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa universities on war footings.

“This is because allocation of funds for education is not a spending at all. In fact it is a long term investment for a prosperous Pakistan,” Mr Kausar said. The governor, who is also chancellor of all public sector universities in the province, appreciated the efforts of University of Peshawar for strengthening academia-industry linkages through closely working with Tribal Areas Chamber of Commerce and Women Business Development Centre for promotion of entrepreneurship in the country.

He announced special cash award for the medal winners.

Earlier, UoP Vice-chancellor Dr Qibla Ayaz in his annual performance report said that three new departments -- department of tourism and hotel management, criminology and health and physical education -- would be operational from the next academic year.

He added that several research and collaboration programmes with Korean, Iranian and Afghan universities were underway.

The vice-chancellor said that special seats were allocated for minorities, Fata, Northern Areas at the university while Afghan students were also given admission.

The botanical garden in Azakhel, handed over to University of Peshawar, had been recommended and included in the elite list of international gardens in conservation, he said.

The botanical garden in Azakhel was the only one in Pakistan to have been awarded with such international recognition for its work on plant preservation and nurturing of endangered species, Dr Ayaz added.

The parents and guardians of medal winners were specially invited for the ceremony that was attended by Khyber Medical University Vice-Chancellor Dr Hafeezullah, UET Vice-chancellor Imtiaz Gillani, MPA Shazia Tehmas, Malakand University Vice-chancellor Dr Johar Ali, faculty and students of the University of Peshawar.