Punjab govt approves a new hostel for Postgraduate Islamia College for Women, Cooper Road Lahore

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has accorded approval to the establishment of a new hostel for resident students of Govt. Postgraduate Islamia College for Women, Cooper Road Lahore. The required funds for this project will be the part of ADP for the fiscal year 2014-15.

This was disclosed by Punjab Education Minister Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan while addressing the 58th convocation of Govt. Postgraduate Islamia College for Women, Cooper Road here today.

The Minister lauded the role of this prestigious educational institution which was established in 1939. It was a ray of hope for aspiring young women who were deprived of getting higher education at that time. Islamia College for Women spread the light of learning without any discrimination of creed, race or religion, the Minister added. He termed it a matter of pride that the college has the singular distinction of having been visited by the father of the nation Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah on 26th March 1944 and many students of this college had the honour to actively participate in the Pakistan Movement.

These exemplary Muslim women kindled a torch which guided the Muslim women of the region at large. The Minister congratulated the faculty members of the college for their hard work to revive its past glory and noble objective to achieve the ultimate goal of academic excellence.

Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan said the only way forward for Pakistan is only through dedicated youth. The present government has focused on education to empower the youth of Pakistan. We are providing level play field to both the boys and girls for acquiring higher education on purely merit basis, but overwhelming majority of these highly qualified women refrain from joining their relevant jobs in practical life after marriage.

The Minister emphasized that our nation should also benefit from the abilities of educated women for which the government has allocated 33 percent quota for the female candidates in all the public sector jobs. This step would result in enhancing our GDP and economic growth rate manifold. The Minister said, he was hopeful that minimum 36 world acclaimed universities would come to Pakistan next month for establishing their sub-campuses at the proposed knowledge park of Lahore.

Principal Farzana Shaheen while presenting annual report of the college informed that the college had the honour of being one of the three colleges out of 102 of the country, to be awarded the “W” category in ranking by the HEC.

The college has the single distinction among the female colleges to acquire this category. 294 female students were awarded degrees while 8 fresh graduates, one each from MA, BA, FA and General Science among 2 each from BSc and FSc were given gold medals for obtaining top positions in the convocation.