KARACHI: The Sindh Madressatul Islam University (SMIU) at its proposed site of Malir campus is going to set up an institute for educational and vocational training for under-privileged population of nearby villages facing poverty and backwardness. SMIU Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali Shaikh disclosed this during a seminar on corporate social responsibility policy and national socio-economic agenda organised by National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH). The VC said that the institute would be established by April this year at the proposed site of Malir campus at Education City project off M-9 section of Motorway between Karachi and Hyderabad. He said that the institute having special focus on vocational training of impoverished women of the area would be established much before Malir Campus of Sindh Madressa University would start functioning at the site of Education City. Dr Shaikh lamented that several leading private and public sector educational institutions had land reserved in Education City project to establish campuses there but they never thought to come up with any plan for socio-economic uplift and advancement of under-privileged local communities living in nearby villages. He said that SMIU being a socially responsible university would set a good precedent for all academic institutions that were aiming to launch their ventures at proposed site of Education City. Earlier former federal minister, Javed Jabbar said that corporate entities should discharge their social obligations in the most cautious manner in order to ensure sustainable development of the less-privileged sections of society. He said that people living below poverty line, out-of-school children, highly inadequate number of taxpaying citizens and less prevalence of family planning techniques were some of alarming socio-economic issues that should be resolved on an urgent basis. Jabbar said that around 22 million children in country had never gone to school, which was highly alarming situation showing a dismal state of education in Pakistan. Published in Daily Times, February 8th2018.