ISLAMABAD   -   President Dr. Arif Alvi has emphasized upon the need for imparting technical education to the youth of Pakistan for getting a respectable place in the comity of nations.

He was addressing the 14th Convocation of Sarhad University of Science & Information Technology, Peshawar held at Jinnah Convention Center, Islamabad, on Monday.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Higher Education Kamran Khan Bangash, Vice Chancellor, Sarhad University, Peshawar Prof. Dr. Salim-ur-Rehman, Deans of Faculties, Heads of Departments, noted educationists of the country and a large number of graduating students and their parents also participated in the convocation.

Dr. Arif Alvi also said that education and good moral values are the only means to jump in to the elite class and to play a vital role for the development of the country.

“Besides the conventional brick-and-mortar system, our higher education system needs a paradigm shift to focus on online education as well to match the growing needs of the contemporary world,” the president said.

He said by the year 2030, the world would be needing 800 million graduates in the field of information technology. In this regard, he said, Pakistan must produce graduates capable of exploiting global opportunities. “For Pakistan, making education common for all is the key to development. Virtual education is the only rapid way to achieve this goal,” he said.

He mentioned his already launched Presidential Initiative of Artificial Intelligence and Computing as an important step in reshaping and revolutionizing the country’s education, research, and business systems through the adoption of cutting-edge technologies.

The president said the world was reaching out to Pakistan in view of its human resource and emphasized the need to tap the opportunities as per the growing demand of the international market.

He appreciated the academic standards of Sarhad University, Peshawar for the providing quality educational facilities to the students of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general and those of the other parts of the country in particular.

He also lauded the Distance Education Program of the University which is equally benefiting the students of far flung areas of the country to earn education without facing dislocation.

Earlier, addressing the Convocation, Provincial Minister Kamran Bangash said that private universities are equally sharing the burden of public sector universities to provide higher education facility to the youth of Province. He said that the present government is taking all measures to improve the standards of education from primary to higher education level.

While presenting a report on the university performance, the Vice Chancellor said that Sarhad University has made remarkable progress in short span of twenty years and has established six faculties, four institutes and fifteen departments to offer degrees in more than eighty disciplines.

Earlier, the President of Pakistan awarded PhD, MS and M.Phil Degrees to 30 scholars of the university who completed their degrees in different disciplines.

Kamran Bangash awarded gold medals to 180 students who got distinctions in their respective disciplines. He also awarded degrees to 838 students of the university.

Overall 838 degrees were awarded to the students in convocation which include 8 PhDs, 25, MS and M.Phil, 312 Masters, 300 Bachelors and 13 Associate Degrees.