PESHAWAR: Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Peshawar (SBBWU) observed its 12th foundation day with a resolve to provide talented girls of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa an environment where they could prove their mettle in all the fields of higher education.

The university was decorated with pink balloons and artworks of the students as educationists, government officials and a large number of faculty and students gathered under a white canopy to observe the 12th foundation day of the university. The students of various departments displayed their final year projects in a separate enclosure which were visited by the guests.

“I am proud to have studied at this university as it gave me courage,” said a disability rights activist Afshan Afridi while sitting on her wheelchair.

Addressing the participants, SBBWU vice-chancellor Prof Razia Sultana said that the varsity was committed to providing more opportunities to women in the field of higher education.

VC vows to develop human resource for country’s economic growth, social stability

She said that in the past 12 years SBBWU had grown into an institution with 145 faculty members, including 35 PhDs. The university has 17 departments and one Lincoln’s corner and is planning to set up first peace museum of the province.

The university has also been collaborating on many projects with national and international institutions.

Prof Sultana said that the university had planned to develop human resource for the economic growth and social stability of the country. She said that several steps had been taken for the safety of students and security of the university in view of the past terrorist attacks on the campuses.

On this occasion, Prof Gulam Raza Bhatti distributed 12 laptops among the MPhil and PhD students under the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme. He said that since the inception of this programme HEC had distributed around 98,000 laptops in the first phase of the scheme. He said that so far 48 per cent of students facilitated under this programme were female.

KP secretary for technical education Farah Hamid Khan said that SBBWU Peshawar had outstanding track record in the field of high education and in the future context the institution would be best placed to fill the gap of the female educated staff for the long-term prosperity of country.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company chief executive officer Mohsin Syed said that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor would overwhelm the region with industrial zone which would create demand for energetic and fresh entrepreneurs.

He said that the university should prepare the students to get benefit out of this grand opportunity.

At the end, Dr Sultana and chief guest awarded 12 best teachers and also distributed cheques among the faculty members for their good performance in the last one year.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2016