When Hassanally Effendi met Sir Syed in 1882 to apprise him of his plan of setting this school, Sir Syed advised him “Don't think of a school only. Aim for a college and then expand it into a university.”

SMI was established just 10 years after the establishment of the Aligarh institution, which started functioning as a school in 1875, became a college in 1877 and was elevated to the level of university in 1920. But, SMI is still operating at the level of a college.

Pakistan's founder Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah studied at Sindh Madressah for the longest period of his academic life, from 1887 to 1892. He loved his alma mater to the extent that he bequeathed one-third of his personal property to it through his last will. He personally came to elevate Sindh Madressah to the level of a college in June 1943. It was reported on June 22, 1943 in Morning News “Speaking in a reminiscent mood, Mr Jinnah said he was overcome by sentiment to be present at the development into a college of his alma mater where 55 years ago he had played and studied as a schoolboy. 'Every inch of these splendid grounds where I took part in various games, I know,' said Mr Jinnah”.

Sindh Madressah produced other great leaders and freedom fighters also like Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto, Sir Abdullah Haroon, Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah, Khan Bahadur Mohammad Ayub Khuhro along with scholars of the likes of Allama I.I. Kazi, Allama Umer Bin Mohammad Daudpota, Ali Khan Abro and several others who devoted their lives for the betterment of the people of this region.

With the objective of developing it into a great seat of learning, the Government of Pakistan declared the Sindh Madressah as a national institution in 1974 while bringing it under the administrative control of its Ministry of Education.

The fact that this institution deserves to be elevated to university was noted by the SMI Board of Governors, which discussed this issue as an agenda item in its 30th meeting held on April 5, 1998. While approving the elevation of the institution to the level of a university in principle, it constituted a six-member committee with Dr Jamil Jalibi, former vice chancellor of the University of Karachi, in chair.

The committee held its meeting on May 9 1998, wherein elevation of SMI to university level was fully favoured on three counts. Firstly, Karachi, being a big metropolis, needed more public sector universities. Second, the alma-mater of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah deserved the status of a university. And third, with all the infrastructural facilities, the institution was located in a part of the city where there was no other university.

This report was discussed in the 31st meeting of SMI Board of Governors, held on June 13, 1999. The committee's recommendations were approved and another high-powered committee was constituted in order to prepare the draft charter. But even before any further progress could have been made in this regard, the government changed in October 1999, and there has been no progress in the direction after that.

Sindh Madressah was established with an aim to attain the status of a great university, excelling in teaching as well as in research. The institution is still looking towards the government and its people to give it its rightful place in accordance with the great services rendered by it for the cause of education during the last 123 years.

The writer is principal of Sindh Madressatul Islam College.