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 Aga Khan University Convocation
Karachi, Pakistan, November 3, 2001
Bismillah.
Honourable Chief Justice Irshad Hasan Khan.
Honoured guest, Sahabzada Yaqub-Khan.
Chairman Saidullah Khan Dehlavi and members of the Board
of Trustees.
Graduates and parents.
Members of the faculty.
Alumni of Aga Khan University.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Assalamo Alaikum.
On behalf of the University, it is my great pleasure
to welcome you all to this, the 14th Convocation Ceremony.
Today we honour the achievements of 193 men and women who, through
hard work, dedication, perseverance and calling, now find themselves
on the threshold of their chosen careers. They are about to embark
on a lifetime of learning and personal growth that will be limited
only by their desire to serve, their will to succeed, their need to
excel, and their courage to face all obstacles.
We honour too their parents, who should be rightfully proud of the
achievements of their daughters and sons. Through their support,
their encouragement and their example, they have charted their graduates'
course for the future.
Now their graduates move to a new level of independence to fulfil
their ambitions and pursue their dreams.
We also honour the faculty of our University, in whose hands we placed
the heavy responsibility of imparting knowledge and skills, morals
and values, ethics and judgement to their students. On the faculty's
shoulders was the burden of developing, shaping and moulding the minds
of young people who, Insha'allah, will go on to become the great healers,
the great researchers, the great teachers and the great care givers
of the future.
Graduates, parents, faculty. This is your day.
At this convocation we will recognise achievements in
three disciplines: Nursing, Epidemiology and Medicine.
This evening, 65 graduates will receive their Nursing Diplomas, building
on the success of the University's first academic programme established
in 1983.
We also honour this evening, 43 graduates of the School
of Nursing who will receive their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree,
of whom 16 have completed the four-year Generic Bachelor's degree
in Nursing -- the first such programme in Pakistan.
Four graduates will receive their Masters degrees in
Epidemiology, a discipline that helps understand the causes, distribution
and control of health problems in populations.
And 81 graduates will receive their Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor
of Surgery designation -- the foundation of their careers as physicians
in general practice, and in an array of medical disciplines and specialties.
All of today's
graduates may take great pride that they entered the University based
solely on merit. They leave the university on the same basis. No
favours were extended to gain entry; no concessions were given to
secure passing grades. And no meritorious student was denied entry
for want of financial assistance.
They may also take pride that they are graduates of Pakistan's first
private international University. Ladies and gentlemen, you
will be interested to know that this teenage University now completing
its eighteenth year has seven teaching sites on three continents. Let me tell you where those campuses are.
As most of you know, the campus on which we now sit contains the Faculty
of Health Sciences, comprising the Medical College and the School
of Nursing, interlocked with Aga Khan University Hospital. In
Karimabad, North Karachi, is located AKU's Institute for Educational
Development in which teachers and school administrators develop their
professional skills so that they may influence change and improve
what is taught, why it is taught, and how it is taught in schools
at all levels.
Outside Karachi, in Gilgit, we have the Professional Development Centre
of the Institute for Educational Development, a joint initiative with
the Aga Khan Education Services that focuses on the special teacher
development needs of the North.
Outside Pakistan, in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the University's
first international initiative is the School of Nursing's Advanced
Nursing Studies programme. It offers opportunities for nurses
in the region to undertake continuing education and personal development
in their profession. With this initiative, AKU is the first and only
university to carry Pakistan's flag overseas in support of higher
education.
Also in East Africa, AKU's Institute for Educational
Development is in the process of establishing the region's first Professional
Development Centres to address education needs in those countries.
In London, England, within the next few months, Aga Khan University
will open it's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations. At
a time when there is so little understanding about Muslims and Muslim
cultures, this Institute is of major significance. It will offer
a place for scholars of all nations to study, to research, to discuss
and to understand the character of Muslim societies and their civilizations
in Asia, in Africa, in the Middle East, in the West and elsewhere
in the world.
This year the University in Karachi has launched a new programme offering
a Masters Degree in Nursing, the first of its kind in the country. And there is yet another, very major development now in planning.
A College of Arts and Sciences will be established in Karachi --
a project that will be of national and regional significance. The
College will offer a wide range of general education programmes --
arts and science and technology -- that will attract the brightest
students and contribute to the development of our future leaders. It will be built on 400 acres of land already acquired on the outskirts
of the city.
At this time of global unrest, when there is a great need for good
leadership and understanding, the role and responsibility of higher
education is at an especially critical stage. In the last two or
three years, the World Bank, UNESCO and other international organizations
have begun to reassess the value of higher education in developing
countries. New recognition is being given to the high returns to
society in developing countries that have the foresight and vision
to invest in higher education. In particular, value is being placed
on the role of general education -- arts and sciences -- in the development
of well rounded, creative, out-of-the-box thinkers who can become
the leaders of tomorrow: in government, in the professions, in business
and throughout society.
It is our hope that AKU's College of Arts and Sciences
will deliver the sort of quality education needed for the people of
Pakistan, and for those we serve in the wider region.
Recent events in North America and in our region are indeed tragic
on many dimensions, but they have caused governments here and in the
industrialised world to examine the skills, values and competencies
required to develop or rebuild disadvantaged societies. Foremost
among many needs advocated is the need to improve higher education.
It is heartening to note that in recognition that higher education
is central to national development, the government of Pakistan established,
in April of this year, a task force for the improvement of higher
education. Its membership includes decision makers in government,
Vice Chancellors of public universities, and two of the nation's private
universities which are playing a leadership role. One of them is
Aga Khan University.
Insha'allah, through dialogue and study, the task force
will influence positive change in the way our higher education institutions
will function in both the public and private sectors, how they will
be governed and what objectives they will seek to achieve.
With these developments in mind, what does it mean for
our graduates?
It means there could not be a more opportune time for you to leave
this University to contribute your education, your skills, your values
and your ethics to the development of Pakistan and our wider region.
You are the ones who can make a difference in our country. It is your choice whether you use your education only for individual
advantage, or also to make your contribution to the advantage of society
at large.
You and your parents have every reason to be proud of your achievements. We are proud of you, and we hope you take pride in your University.
As you leave to begin the next stage in life's journey,
remember the words from the Holy Qur'an inscribed in the seal of the
University, your alma mater:
And hold fast, all together, by the rope which God stretches out
for you.
And be not divided among yourselves,
and remember with gratitude God's favour on you.
For
ye were enemies and he joined your hearts in love, so that by his
grace ye became brethren.
Holy Qur'an, Ayat 3:103
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