ISLAMABAD, Mar 15 (NNI): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has said that Daanish University of Emerging Sciences will be on par with the world’s top-ranking universities in terms of standards.
Speaking during a visit to the site to review of Daanish University of Emerging Sciences in Islamabad on Saturday, the Prime Minister has emphasized the importance of quality education for all in order to elevate the country to new heights.
The Prime Minister said one hundred acres of land has been allocated for Daanish University of Emerging Sciences and it will be constructed at a cost of one hundred and ninety million pounds transferred to the national exchequer by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif said that no doubt, the country had good educational centers spread across in different provinces, but as far as he remembered, there was no proper research and development educational center dedicated to the modern applied sciences.
He expressed the hope that Daanish University could be equal to world-renowned educational institutions like Stanford, Oxford, MIIT and others, adding that on Aug 14, 2026, the first section of the university would be operationalized.
The Prime Minister further informed that the government would have no relation with its functions and administration as it would work autonomously like the PKLI where legislation was made in this regard. PKLI was now functioning in the best way in the healthcare sector.
Students from all over the country would get enrollment in different faculties of the university purely on the basis of merit. A Trust would be created and initially, the government would provide Rs10billion as seed money and later, it would run on the amount collected from fees of wealthy students while the poor students would be assisted.
The prime minister said that names of the board of governors of Daanish University had been finalized so that the brilliant minds could contribute. The campus would be constructed with red facade which would have all the allied facilities, he added.
About functioning of the Daanish schools across Punjab province, he said a large number of orphans and poor students were getting education there.
The centers equipped with free education, smart boards, IT laps, dormitories etc. were providing all facilities to the students from backward areas, he added. He also appreciated teachers who left their well-paid jobs to teach students in far-flung areas at Daanish schools.
The prime minister opined that the immense talent in those areas would have been wasted if the students were not properly educated. He emphasized they could realize the real objectives of a prosperous Pakistan by striving to provide quality education to all.
The prime minister also expressed his gratitude to former Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and the incumbent CJP Yahya Afridi for transferring the amount of 190 million pounds to the government exchequer which would be utilized for the establishment of Daanish University.
The prime minister stressed that nations were built on basis of hard work and not by seeking of loans or funds and resolved to strive to make Pakistan a stronger and prosperous country and to realize the ideals of its founder Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
He said the first section of the University will be made operational on the 14th August next year.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said Daanish University of Emerging Sciences will provide such a workforce which will be future technology leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.
He said technology based start-ups will emerge from this institution and it will prepare Pakistan for the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions.
He said the biggest Global South educational endowment fund was created by Shehbaz Sharif in the form of Daanish schools during his tenure as CM Punjab where students from the backward areas got quality education.
Daanish University would be the next level where they would prepare workforce for the industrial revolution, he said, adding the university would have the facilities to impart education in AI, bio-technology, robotics, space sciences and other emerging technologies through applied research to create a platform to fill the gap between academia and industries.
Ahsan Iqbal said that they would also seek global partnership for the transfer of technology and to ensure that this institution should provide technology leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.
An amount of190 million pounds which belonged to people of Pakistan and returned by UK NCA from money laundering case, stood transferred to the government, he added.
The minister regretted that a government at that time had misused the amount and thanked the former CJP and current CJP for transferring the amount to the government.
The minister said that the amount would now be spent on the establishment of the state-of-the-art university where the undergraduate students from Daanish schools would get admissions.
Earlier, Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui highlighted that the government is taking significant steps to promote quality education across the country. He also mentioned that the network of Daanish Schools is being expanded.
He promised with the nation and the country that they would work hard to spread education and wisdom for the bright future of the country by undertaking similar initiatives.
The minister said they were laying a foundation of an educational center which would become a model to be emulated by the provinces.
The ceremony was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, ministers, parliamentarians, experts and relevant authorities. NNI
