Daily Times

LAHORE: The Government College University (GCU) Lahore on Wednesday conferred doctorate of philosophy (PhD) degrees upon two immensely determined ladies named Aziza Saeed and Kausar Inayat, who despite facing physical challenges completed their research on very novel topics in Urdu Literature.

Aziza Saeed is the first visually-impaired student to receive a PhD degree from GCU Lahore, while Kausar Inyat has been suffering from brain tumour.

Eminent physicist Dr G Murtaza, who is also the professor of Salam Chair at GCU, was chief guest at the opening session of the university’s 16th convocation where he along with GCU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah awarded degrees to these two determined ladies and other students.

Besides medals and rolls of honour, a total of 2,349 degrees would be awarded this year at the university’s two-day convocation, which includes 85 PhDs, 707 MS/Master of Philosophy, 322 MA/MSc and 1,235 Bachelor of Arts/BSc (Hons.)

In his convocation address, GCU VC Professor Dr Hassan Amir Shah also raised his voice for the autonomy of universities in the country, saying that the proverbial “red-tape” impeded their smooth functioning at every stage.

Professor Shah said that it had become increasingly difficult for the common man to afford quality education.

“GCU, therefore, this year granted scholarships worth Rs 62 million to the deserving students from its own budget and Endowment Fund,” he added.

Congratulating the passing-out graduates, the vice chancellor advised them that in pursuit of glory, they must retain the fundamental norms of creativity, farsightedness and persistence which were always cherished at GCU.

“For this my students, you need to resist the onslaught of time which compels you to compromise your values and succumb to various social pressures,” he added. Professor Shah told students that they must bridge the gap between their ideals and the cruel realities of life.

“Your success lies in the measure of patience and determination that you may muster up.,” he concluded.

In his presidential address, Professor Dr G Murtaza asked the students to never forget the contributions of their parents in their life, saying that “Your parents compromised a lot so that you can be successful.”

He also shared the inspiring story of Nobel Laureate Professor Dr Abdus Salam with the young graduates and told them how a Pakistani village boy became a towering personality in the world of Physics.

Talking to media, Saeed said that she had never allowed her physical inability to challenge her mental capabilities, adding that studying Urdu Literature was the most challenging task for the blind students as books in this discipline were literally not available in digital format for audio listening.

“PhD demands massive reading of literature and I used to pay students and other people to record books for me,” said Saeed said, while demanding the government to set up a special digital library of Urdu Literature in the country for visually-impaired students. She credited her parents and teachers for the PhD degree.

Inayat said she had done a big part of her research work on patient beds in hospitals but didn’t let this brain tumour impede her dreams. She requested the government to support her treatment.

GCU Registrar Saboor Ahmed said these two ladies were inspiration for other students. “May our all students be able to materialise their dreams and make us proud just as we are proud of their predecessors today, he added.

Earlier, the VC at the first session also presented the Professor GD Sondhi Medal for overall excellent performance to Maryam Ejaz, the Muhammad Idrees Medal for Best Debater to Muhammad Abdullah, Daud Ilyas Medal for outstanding intermediate student to Muhammad Faizan, Dr Saida Karamat Medal for Best Woman Graduate to Hafiza Quratul Ain Fatima, the Waleed Iqbal Medal for Best English Parliamentary Speaker to Mohiba Ahmed, while the Thespian Medal for excellent performance in dramatics was conferred upon Maryam Hassan Naqvi.

Naqeeb Ahmed Khan, a driver in government department, broke into tears while receiving the co-curricular medal and degree of his son who has recently got commissioned in Pakistan Army. He expressed gratitude to all the teachers of his son.

Akhuwat Executive Director Dr Muhammad Amjad Saqib graced the second session of the ceremony. The university would honour its position holders for the BA/BSc (Honours) programmes today (Thursday) at the third session of the convocation.

Published in Daily Times, July 5^th 2018.