LAHORE Punjab University College of Information Technology (PUCIT) organised an orientation ceremony for the newly admitted students of academic session 2011-12 in the university on Tuesday.
PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran was the chief guest of the event while PUCIT Principal Prof Dr Syed Mansoor Sarwar, other faculty members and a large number of newcomers were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the ceremony, the VC said that knowledge was the only key to progress and prosperity.
Throwing light on PU’s academic developments, he said that the university had spent Rs 4 million on research projects in 2007, adding that the amount had been increased to Rs 70 million in the past three years, which spoke volumes about the increasing research activities in the university.
He said that the number of research publications stood at 162 in 2007, whereas the number had increased to 352 publications in the year 2010 owing to which the PU had been able to improve its HEC ranking. He said that before 2007, an average of 41 PhDs were being awarded each year whereas now, the number had reached 100.
Comparing the number of books written by the faculty members in 2007 and 2010, the VC said that the number had increased from 27 to 65.
He said that in 2007, only 29 percent of the faculty members were PhD holders whereas now, over 39 percent of the faculty members held PhDs in different subjects.
The VC said that the US spent $1,000 million on education, China spent $250 billion while India allocated $48 billion for the education sector. “Unfortunately, Pakistan spends less than $2.5 billion dollars, which is not an encouraging figure,” he said.
He added that it was shameful that Pakistan ranked 187th in the list of 193 nations that spent lesser amount of GDP on education.
He urged the politicians to allocate at least four percent of GDP for the education sector. He said that Pakistan had a lot of talent as well as natural resources, however, it was unfortunate that the country’s leaders did not recognise their importance.
The VC said that a group of rich families had overpowered the western countries and put the world on a course of wars for their personal benefits. These rich families owned four major banks of America and four big companies. They also had shares in 500 top multi-national companies of the world and now they intended to capture Pakistan’s natural resources.
The VC advised the students to inculcate a habit of learning and acquiring knowledge within themselves so that they can have a strong grasp over their subjects. He advised them to respect each other and improve their own deficiencies and praise others on their abilities.
Earlier, in his welcome address, PUCIT Principal Prof Dr Syed Mansoor Sarwar briefed the newcomers about the curricular and extra-curricular activities as well as about the history of the college.
He said that 9,125 candidates had applied for the BS programme’s entry test this year as compared to the 6,908 applicants last year. Also, 3,500 students had applied for the degree programmes out of which 480 students were admitted after a tough competition, he added.
Sarwar said that in 2006, there was one PhD holder and two MPhil holders among the faculty members, however, now there were nine PhD holders and 25 MPhil holders among the faculty members and the numbers were expected to increase during the next three years.
Daily Times. <
