Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry contributes for scholarships

Four varsities receive Rs 10m for scholarships


IN an effort to improve the human resource standards of the country, the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has given Rs10 million to four universities for scholarships.


The LCCI provided Rs 2.5 million each to Government Collage University, Punjab University, University of Engineering and Technology and Lahore University of Management Sciences with the objective to promote education in the country.


“It is a scholarship for the talented deserving students,” said LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali. He said the LCCI decided to give money to universities to ensure transparency and distribution of monetary assistance in a right manner to right students.


LCCI Senior Vice President Tahir Javaid Malik, Founding Father of LUMS Syed Baber Ali, Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Dr Khalid Aftab, Lahore University of Management Sciences Vice-Chancellor Dr Ahmad Jan Durrani, Prof Dr Noor Mohammad Sheikh, Dean of Electrical Engineering representing UET Vice Chancellor and Department of Pharmacy Dean Dr Jamshaid on behalf of PU Vice chancellor also spoke on the occasion. Muzaffar said the LCCI has decided to support education in view of its education.


The key objective of which is to provide merit-based scholarships for pursuing quality education with equal opportunities. Universities and institutions will be independent to select candidates on the basis of merit, without the interference of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, he said.


He said that history was a race between education and catastrophe and we must get education if we do not want to be history. He said change did not necessarily ensure progress, but progress undoubtedly required change. Education was essential to change since education created both new wants and the in-house ability to satisfy them, he said. It was this ability that defines development and bifurcated nations into developed and undeveloped categories.


“I strongly believe that education is the bridge to sustainable development. Abraham Lincoln said “if I had six hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the first four hours sharpening the axe”.


Education to a developing nation is the tool that sharpens this axe which subsequently accelerates the speed and efficiency at which we can chop down the trees,” he said.


The LCCI president said that an increased productivity, once achieved, would not only help multiply the country’s gross domestic product but would also help lower inflation and make life affordable for a lot more that just the select few. “We want to fight and reduce poverty, we need to think long term and invest in education today,” he said.


Mian Muzaffar Ali said that education is a debt due from the present to the future generations. “It is a long term objective that needs investment today. It’s a tree which planted today would bear fruit for our future generations.

If we want Pakistan to be a truly developed nation one day, we need to sow the seeds today. We want Pakistan to compete with the rest of the developed world, we want to make sure that we have strong and affordable institutions that impart education to the masses,” he said.


Former LCCI presidents who were present on the occasion said that the Education Support Fund launched by the chamber would go a long way in promoting higher education in the country.


At the end of the function, all vice-chancellors and representatives of universities thanked the LCCI for contributing to a national cause.



Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=168551