LARKANA: Over 500 graduates and postgraduates were conferred degrees and of them 64 meritorious students were awarded gold medals at the fifth convocation of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) held at the university’s Areeja campus here on Monday.

The university’s vice chancellor, Prof Dr Nusrat Shah, presented the coveted document to different batches of MBBS, BDS, D. Pharm and a galaxy of postgraduates in surgery, medicine and ophthalmology, gynaecology and obstetrics.

She congratulated the degree recipients on their achie­ve­ment and urged them to work hard to earn their position

and recognition in practical life, which they were entering now. This university was producing with unwavering dedication competent graduates who would shoulder health sector’s responsibilities in future, she said.

She said that it was Z.A. Bhutto, who had 50 years from now established the Chandka Medical College in Larkana which had grown into a medical university and was now serving Upper Sindh, parts of Balochistan and Punjab. Despite financial constraints the university had cleared its huge loan and was still braving financial problems, she said.

“We have overcome academic challenges and effectively established linkages with national and international institutions of repute. Not only the university has published its first online research journal but also trained over 100 faculty members in different disciplines, she said.

She said addressing the fresh graduates: “You are now part of healthcare system and hence should be prepared to face challenges. It is now your turn to pay back to your motherland,” she said.

She stressed the need for working on prevention of diseases and added that 64 per cent of population was in the age bracket of 30 years. “Therefore, you can contribute hugely to the health sector,” she said, adding there was greater need today of evolving connectivity between health sector and industry. “Instead of running after jobs we should be producers of jobs,” she added.

Prof Tahmina Nagraj, VC of Begum Nusrat Bhutto University, Sukkur; and Prof Dr Ghulam Asghar Channa, former VC of SMBBMU, said

in their speeches that the

fresh graduates should dedicate their talent to serving the ailing community.

They gave the credit to Z.A. Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto for the medical university and reminded the graduates that the heights which they had achieved and the many more which they would surely summit in future would not have been possible without selfless and unwavering support of their parents.

“It is not merely a white coat (apron) but it is a symbol of a profound pledge of serving humanity with dedication and devotion. The medical sector is a dynamic field which grows rapidly. You must focus on widening your scope of services,” they said.

A total of 250 graduates of Chandka Medical College, Larkana; 65 of Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur; 120 graduates of Bibi Aseefa Dental College, Larkana; 42 of Benazir College of Nursing and 23 of the Institute of Pharmacy, received degrees at the convocation,.

Of them, 64 meritorious graduates were awarded gold medals. Women outshined men in the number of medal recipients. Two shields introduced in memory of renowned Prof of Medicines late Dr Wazeer Mohammad Shaikh and Prof Dr Balqees Mailk were awarded to postgraduates in the fields of medicine and gynaecology.

Sindh governor was reportedly expected to preside over the convocation but he could not make it and in his absence the SMBBMU’s vice chancellor chaired the gathering.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2024