“Felicitates Poonch Medical College for its excellent performance”
Islamabad: (Parliament Times) President Azad Jammu and Kashmir Sardar Masood Khan has said that we will make our universities free of all political intercessions and academic seats of excellence.
The President made these remarks while presiding over the 5th Senate meeting of University of Kotli held here in Kashmir House, Islamabad.
The President during the meeting was briefed about the administrative and academic issues pertaining to the University. The said briefing was given by Prof. Dr. Dilnawaz Gardezi, Vice Chancellor Kotli University and other senate members.
President Masood Khan said that Kotli university will be the leading Information Technology institute in Azad Kashmir. He said that soon University of Kotli shall be a hub for software startups and will function as an incubator for budding entrepreneurs and researchers helping to promote technical and academic expertise.
Underlining the importance of merit-based appointments and admissions, the President said that no compromise will be made on merit. He said that by upholding merit we can ensure that our universities can excel and compete with national, regional and international universities.
The President expressed his satisfaction on Kotli University’s plan to organize a major event on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He said that this conference will encourage students and academicians in understanding the challenges and opportunities of CPEC including the changing job market and industry requirements.
President Masood who is also the Chancellor of Public Sector Universities in Azad Kashmir said that all AJK public sector universities including Kotli University will organize major job-fairs at their campuses. He said that these job-fairs will help students in comprehending current job trends. He hoped that leading organizations from banking, finance, textile, agriculture, IT and recruitment organizations will participate in these job-fairs.
He also advised the university in developing an online portal for promoting tourism in AJK. He said that with the university expertise in IT, their assistance can also be utilized for establishing e-governance portals and websites for facilitating the public.
President Azad Kashmir also said that with the technical assistance of Higher Education Commission, we will bring the academic standards of our Universities at par with leading universities of the region. He further said that we are exploring avenues for introducing split degree and exchange programs to enhance the capacity of our students and faculty.
The meeting was also attended by former Chief Justice AJK Mr. Azam Khan, former VC University of AJK, Muzaffarabad Prof Dr.Manzoor Hussain, Dean University of AJK Prof. Dr. Ayesha Sohail and other members of the senate board.
Meanwhile, the AJK President in a separate statement extended his felicitations to Poonch Medical College, Rawalakot on being declared first in the Final Professional MBBS Examination 2017 among all medical colleges associated with the University of Health Sciences, Lahore.
Calling it a landmark achievement, the President congratulated the Principal, faculty, students and parents on the outstanding result. He said, despite limited technical and financial resources, Poonch Medical College has achieved this impressive result. He hoped that in the coming years Poonch Medical College will maintain these academic standards by continuing to impart quality medical education to the students of AJK and Pakistan.
The President on the occasion reiterated that the current government prioritizes merit-based admissions and inductions in universities. He added that no political interference will be allowed to influence decision making in universities and other educational institutions.
By upholding merit, he said, we will make our higher education institutions competitive locally and regionally.
