Islamabad, May 14, 2019
Islamabad, The National Assembly Standing Committee on Science & Technology held
a meeting to review the working and performance of COMSATS University Islamabad
(CUI) on Tuesday. The Standing Committee Meeting was held on the Islamabad campus
of CUI and was chaired by MNA Syed Sajid Mehdi from Vehari.
The committee called upon Rector CUI to apprise the committee members about the
achievements of CUI as well as its future challenges and way forward. Prof. Dr.
Raheel Qamar, Rector CUI presented key insights into the future planning and development
of the university at the forum. Prof. Qamar said that CUI was the number 1 university
in Pakistan on nearly all international university rankings and had surpassed all
research and publication records of the country.
However the university is facing a severe resource constraint, which has stented
the remarkable growth of the university remarked the Rector. He also apprised the
committee that CUI plans on opening future campuses in Baluchistan and Sindh, however,
it was facing difficulty in land acquisition and resource allocation.
Prof. Raheel Qamar also highlighted the need for enhancing the Prime Minister’s
Fee Reimbursement Scheme for under developed areas. Committee members praised the
progress of the university and assured support for extending the university’s outreach
to Sindh and Baluchistan as well as the public service initiatives of the university
including its Adopt a Tree and Just say No to plastics campaigns.
Aftab Hussain Siddique, MNA from Karachi assured the support of his government in
bringing the much needed resources to CUI. MNA Usman Khan Tarakai said that the
university leadership has been instrumental in bringing phenomenal progress in the
institution, he lauded the role of Prof. Dr. Raheel Qamar in trying to make the
institution self-reliant. MNA Khawaja Saad Rafique indicated the need for making
former ministers part of NA committees in order to benefit from their experience
and following up on the decisions of the previous standing committees.
The committee members also called upon the Higher Education Commission to strengthen
the Virtual Campus and hybrid learning initiatives of CUI by bringing in relevant
legislation. They further suggested that CUI Dual Degree Program was an international
recognition of the educational standard of Pakistani universities and needed to
be revived.
The committee particularly appreciated the knowledge commercialization and entrepreneurial
initiatives of CUI. MNA Sajid Mehdi while deliberating highlighted the need for
providing opportunities to young scientists, returning with advanced degrees from
abroad. Dr. Samina Matloob highlighted the need for remote campuses in far flung
areas in order to raise women literacy in the country.
The committee also deliberated on other agenda items and concluded the meeting upon
a visit to various campus facilities and tour of the Junaid Zaidi Library.