Daily Times

The annual convocation of the University of Management & Technology (UMT) conferred degrees upon 1,327 on Tuesday.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar presided over the convocation ceremony. A total of 1327, 820 male and 507 female students graduated at convocation.

Some 721 students of Bachelors, 177 of Masters, 423 of MS and M.Phil and six PhD degrees were awarded to the students. As for the special awards and medals, this year, 12 patron medals, 11 rector medals, four Rector’s Academic Excellence Awards, two Khurram Murad awards, four certificates of excellence and two Mrs Sadaqat Aslam medals were awarded.

Mubarakun Nisa Medal, Dr Muhammad Ahmed Medal, Haji Tajuddin medal, Khalid Saeed Medal and FAST Excellence Award were also given away.

Addressing the convocation gathering, Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar said that the importance of higher education could not be denied but we also need to address the issue of 22 million children who are out of school. He said higher education is closely linked to the national economy and without focusing on university graduates; the dream of development could not be fulfilled.

The governor said that the government was trying its best to deliver to the nation as promised during election campaign. He said besides education, agriculture was also one of the priorities of the government. Paying tribute to UMT’s late founder Dr Hassan Sohaib Murad, Muhammad Sarwar said that he personally knew Dr Hassan Sohaib Murad who was a man of passion, commitment and dedication. He said his sudden demise was a great loss of the country.

The governor said the government was trying to uplift national economy by boosting national exports and supporting the industry so that Goods & Services Tax plus gets improved and our exports reach Euro Zone. He urged all public and private sector universities to prepare manpower for the mega project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor which he said was vital for national development and advancement in all sectors.

Shedding light on key achievements of the university, UMT Rector Dr Muhammad Aslam said due to highly qualified faculty and excellent infrastructure, the university was moving towards the right direction and its ranking had improved. He said all of the varsity’s degree programmes were accredited by the relevant councils and bodies. He said the university was publishing 16 research journals and the research of the faculty had published probably in all world-renowned journals. The rector congratulated the graduates as well as their parents.

Addressing the convocation, UMT President Ibrahim Hassan Murad said that UMT’s current and future success was shaped according to the vision of Dr Sohaib Murad who left a distinguishing mark on academic leadership of Pakistan. He said Dr Sohaib’s philosophy and legacy would continue illuminating our life and the world as a whole.

Ibrahim said one of the fundamental tasks of modern universities was to bring social change through education and deal with real life issues. He urged the graduates to stay inside the country and not to think of settling abroad as the country needs them.

Ilm Trust Chairman Dr Ahmed Murad also addressed the convocation. UMT Director General Abid HK Shirwani, the registrar, examinations controller and members of the governing body of the university were also present on the occasion.

Published in Daily Times, December 19^th 2018.