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Azim stresses need for research in higher studies

RECORDER REPORT

HYDERABAD: The Sindh Governor Air Marshal Azim Daudpota (Retd) has stressed the need for research in higher seats of learning for progress of the province and prosperity of the nation.

Addressing the 19th meeting of senate of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology at Jamshoro campus here on Wednesday, the governor, who is also the Chancellor of universities of Sindh, said the province had accumulated Rs 104 billion debt due to wrong policies and ill-planning of past governments in the last decade.

He said the province was obliged to pay Rs 150 million per month to pay back the outstanding loans. He said the province had great potential and enormous mineral wealth such as oil, gas and coal, which needed to be explored and exploited through proper planning.

He said that Sindh had been neglected in the past but the sense of deprivation would be completely eliminated as the Chief Executive was committed to equal and equitable development of all the federating units.

Responding to the demands for more funds and staff for the university, he referred to the financial constraints and innumerable problems confronting the provincial administration and called upon the planners to make maximum use of the available facilities.

He called upon the university authorities to use the available buildings for multi-purpose activities and not to undertake the construction of new buildings unless there was visible financial improvements in the province. He pointed out that at least it would take two years to improve the financial position.

He exhorted the teachers to impart quality education so that the graduates of the university faced no difficulties in competition and finding jobs.

He said education should be purposeful and job-oriented. He pointed out that there was no dearth of jobs in the computer software industry.

He lauded the efforts of the university administration for initiating various programmes in the field of environmental engineering, textile technology and information technology for which there was a great demand.

He was happy to note that the university was coordinating with Karachi, Hyderabad and Kotri based industrial organisations.

Earlier, Vice Chancellor Dr A.R. Memon, in his address of welcome, said that during the last 25 years the university had witnessed a tremendous growth from three to 13 technologies offering under graduate level adminissions to 441 students on regular basis.

He said Mehran was the first university in the public sector in Pakistan that had introduced pre-entry test.

He said, with the object of providing quality education and opening the gates of international jobs market for the students of the university, it had been decided to get ISO-9000 certification and added that the documentation work was underway.

He said the university was looking forward to get assistance from the provincial and federal governments and College of Aeronautical Engineering Risalpur for the aero-space engineering.

He thanked the Chancellor for his personal interest in promoting the cause of education and also acknowledged the contribution of outgoing members of the senate.

The Adviser to the Governor on Education, Abdul Wahab Shaikh, dean of various faculties of the university and professors were also present on the occasion.

On arrival at the university, the governor was received among others by the Divisional Commissioner, Hyderabad, Imtiaz Kazi, DIG Hyderabad Saud Mirza and other senior officers.