Moalims

PESHAWAR: At least 471 students were awarded degrees at the second convocation of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University (SBBWU) Peshawar on Tuesday.

The event was held at University of Peshawar’s convocation hall and Governor Mehtab Ahmad Khan was the chief guest on the occasion.

Report card

During the ceremony, 101 students received their bachelor’s degrees while 298 were awarded master’s degrees. Dr Romana Zeb was the only PhD scholar to earn her degree while 12 MPhil students also graduated from the institute.

In addition, 59 students from various departments received gold medals for their outstanding performance.

Mehtab congratulated students on their academic performance and lauded SBBWU for successfully training future professionals.

Gender bias

The governor also drew attention to the quality of education in the tribal belt. “The education ratio is still abysmally low.”

According to Mehtab, only a small number of girls have access to education due to a lack of awareness.

“The tribespeople of Fata must allow their daughters to go to school,” he said. “This will help them work for the betterment of the region.”

He also said universities have allocated seats for students from Fata and the disaster-hit areas of Chitral.

Miles to go

SSBBWU Peshawar Vice Chancellor Razia Sultana highlighted the history of the institute and obstacles it has encountered.

“SBBWU was first launched in a few rooms of Frontier College Peshawar,” she said. “Over the years, we have enrolled 5,000 students. We will be able to make it the best university in the country through the provincial government’s help.”

The VC said the institute had faced countless teething problems.

“However, we have overcome these issues through teamwork and provided quality education to students,” he added.

According to the VC, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak visited the institute and vowed to construct a library, a convocation hall, conference hall, sports grounds and other facilities.

“We hope the government will fulfil its promises as soon as possible,” he added.

The event was attended by a large number of parents, students and faculty members.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2015.