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Education: PPL partners with NUST, HU

KARACHI: Pakistan Petroleum Limited (PPL) today partnered with two leading universities, Habib University (HU) and National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) to provide quality tertiary education to deserving and aspiring youth.

It was in this context that Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PPL, Syed Wamiq Bokhari presented cheques of Rs. 16.8 million jointly to Pro-Rector Academics NUST Air Vice Marshall Dr. Asif Raza and another of Rs. 5 million to CEO HU Foundation (HUF) Parvez Ghias at the company’s head office.

The company’s grant of Rs. 16.8 million to NUST will cover the expenses for training approximately 320 students, 160 each from Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas, through a residential programme to prepare for NUST admission test under the mutual NUST-PPL Outreach Programme.

Whereas its donation of Rs. 5 million to Habib University as endowed scholarship will support five deserving students under its Talent Outreach Promotion and Support Programme for one year whereby eligible students go through preparatory training for entrance test at HU and selected, deserving students’ tuition fees and other academic expenses are covered.

General Manager, University Advancement Office, NUST, Maria Qadri and CFO, Habib University, Feroze Cawasji along with other representatives of the two institutions and company officials attended the ceremony. MoU between PPL and NUST was also signed on the occasion.

Relevant pieces published earlier:

i) Chairman of Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr. Tariq Banuri Thursday said all the reforms and policies in higher education will be implemented after thorough deliberations with an active involvement of concerned stakeholders especially university faculty. He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) and Working Group on Higher Education Reforms, a press release said. The delegation, which called upon the newly appointed HEC chairman comprised of President Dr. Kaleemullah Bareach, Dr. Shehzad Ashraf, Dr. Ashfaq Khosa and Murtaza Noor. The delegation greeted Dr. Banuri over his appointment as 4th chief of HEC through the transparent and merit-based selection process and assured full cooperation in addressing the challenges being confronted by higher education sector in Pakistan. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Banuri said multiple challenges of higher education sector could only resolve through close coordination and effective liaison with the concerned stakeholders. He said the role of HEC was a facilitator, while universities were autonomous, adding that the HEC would play its role for capacity building of varsities and extend more autonomy to varsities. Dr. Kaleemullah discussed the Senate resolutions on an enhancement of retirement age to 65 years for university teachers and a 75 percent tax rebate for university teachers. Dr. Banuri assured his full support in this regard.

ii) PM appoints Tariq Banuri as HEC chairman, Prime Minister has appointed Dr. Tariq Banuri as new HEC Chairman, a post that remained vacant following lapsing of Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed’s 4-year-term on 14thA six-member committee comprising former health minister Dr. Sania Nishtar, former lawmaker Shahnaz Wazir Ali, educationists Faisal Bari, Mirza Qamar Baig and Syed Babar Ali and federal secretary education, after much deliberation presented four names to the PM. Other three names were: former vice-chancellor of Islamia University Bahawalpur Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar, Iqbal Chaudhry and Anwarul Hasan Gilani.  Dr. Tariq Banuri, a Utah University professor, holds a Ph.D. degree in economics from the Harvard University and MA in development economics from the Williams College.  Dr. Banuri, who commenced his career as a civil servant joined UN as a research fellow at the World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER). Armed with the WIDER model Dr. Banuri successfully set up Islamabad’s Sustainable Development Policy Institute as its Executive Director. He has also served as a member of the board of governors of Pakistan’s central bank, member of Pakistan Environmental Protection Council, and member/secretary of the Presidential Steering Committee on Higher Education, as well as coordinating lead author of the Nobel Prize-winning Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Dr Banuri who has recently worked as a director at UN’s Division for Sustainable Development at authored twenty books and thirty research papers. (29th May 2018) 

M M Alam

M. M. Alam is a Pakistan-based working journalist since 1981. Karachi University faculty gold medalist Alam began his career four decades ago by writing for Dawn, Pakistan’s highest circulating English daily. He has worked for region’s leading publications, global aviation periodicals including Rotors (of USA) and vetted New York Times as permanent employee of daily Express Tribune. Alam regularly covers international aviation and defense-related events including Salon Du Bourget (France), Farnborough (United Kingdom), Dubai (UAE). Alam has reported thousands of events and interviewed hundreds of people in Pakistan, UAE, EU, UK and USA. Being Francophone Alam also coordinates with a number of French publications.