“I appeal to the women of this country to use their education for the welfare of the nation. They should not sit at home after spending time and resources on education,” said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Monday.
He was speaking at the 11th convocation of Lahore College for Women University. As many as 2,373 graduates were awarded degrees in various programs.
He said the youth was a precious asset and the only hope for a bright future of the country.
He said Pakistani women were talented and played an important role in health, engineering and education sectors.
“This nation is proud of its daughters,” he said. “Pakistan can regain its lost status in the comity of nations through honesty, hard work and determination.”
The ceremony was presided over by Governor Chaudhary Muhammad Sarwar. Ministers Rana Mashhood Ahmed, Zakia Shahnawaz, Higher Education secretary, Information secretary, Vice Chancellor of the university Dr Sabiha Mansoor were also present. The chief minister said universities should be centres of education and research. “It is unfortunate that no Pakistani university ranks among top 500 universities of the world,” he said.
He said education authorities should raise the standard of education and research at Pakistani universities at par with international standards.
He said the government was ready to provide all out funds for this purpose.
Congratulating the graduates, the chief minister said their success was the result of hard work and dedication.
“It is a fact that women are taking a lead over men in all sectors of life. If they continued to work with the same spirit and determination, the country will change entirely,” he said.
He said Pakistan was facing shortage of electricity, terrorism and extremism. He said collective efforts were needed to overcome these issues.
He said people of all walks of life gathered under Minar-i-Pakistan 74 years ago and resolved to create such a society where equal opportunities of progress and development would be available to all citizens.
The chief minister said that though an independent state was achieved through a historic struggle, the dreams of the founders of the country had still not been realized.
“The objectives of the creation of Pakistan have not been achieved even after 67 years,” he said. He said Pakistan today was not a state envisioned by its founders.
He said honesty, hard work, commitment and determination were needed to make Pakistan a welfare state.
The governor congratulated the students who obtained degrees, medals and awards.
He paid tribute to the parents and teachers of the graduating class. He said the prime minister was determined to promote education and had doubled the budget for education sector. He thanked the chief minister for setting up the Punjab Higher Education Commission and said that it would result in promotion of higher education in the province.
Vice Chancellor Sabiha Mansoor highlighted the educational and research activities of the university as well as its future programmes.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2014.