At least three dignitaries, including former chief minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif, the incumbent CM Najam Sethi and Governor Makhdoom Ahmad, excused themselves from presiding over important events arranged by one of the most prestigious institution of the country, Government College University (GCU).
The first time the GCU administration and students had to face embarrassment was when former CM Shahbaz Sharif, himself an old Ravian, expressed his inability to preside over a ceremony arranged for laying foundation stone of the varsity’s new campus to be built at Kala Shah Kaku on March 3.
Adding insult to the injury, the ex-CM conveyed his inability to preside over the ceremony just a night before the event when the GCU management and students were giving final touches to the arrangements.
The second time the institute administration and students were subjected to humiliation was on March 9 when interim CM Najam Sethi, also a Ravian, failed to fulfill his commitment to preside over the ceremony.
Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood was the third dignitary who caused embarrassment to the institute when he regretted to preside over the 11th GCU convocation on March 28. It was the most blatant breach of commitment as when it was conveyed to the GCU management that the governor was not turning up at the event, the varsity’s academic procession had queued up to welcome the chief guest.
This apparent lack of sense of commitment on part of the three dignitaries, two of them old Ravians, not only resulted in waste of money and resources but also humiliated the students and faculty members who were so actively involved in making arrangements for these events.
Some faculty members told a local newspaper that teachers as well as students were not happy with the casual attitude of the dignitaries towards their alma mater.
“It does not look nice that the university is facing embarrassment at the hands of chief ministers and the governor for nothing,” a teacher commented, adding that it was naïve on part of management to believe in commitments made by these politicians.
Some teachers also questioned the decision to invite caretaker chief minister to lay foundation stone of GCU KSK campus as he had no huge funds on his disposal which could be allocated for the project.
“If the caretaker CM inaugurates the new campus, the new elected chief minister may feel reluctant to put up his plaque on it,” a teacher said.
The GCU Syndicate had approved the master plan for the university’s state-of-the-art campus at Kala Shah Kaku in the third week of February and the varsity was awaiting funds for its development.
A couple of days later, GCU Vice-Chancellor Dr Khaleequr Rahman had told reporters that the varsity was looking for a (donor) chief guest, who could announce at least Rs 1.5 billion for basic infrastructure development.
When contacted, GCU ASA president Dr Hasan Shah said the faculty members were extremely unhappy over the second postponement of the function at varsity’s KSK campus. He stressed the varsity management should make ‘fool-proof’ arrangements for the purpose next time.
