The 35-member students delegation from Pakistan which is on a study tour of European countries under the educational programme of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif paid a visit to one of the oldest (approximately 800 years old) and most prestigious universities across the world: The Cambridge University.
The students were warmly received in Alison Richard’s building by Dr. Muhammad Irfan, PhD in Developmental Studies; Dr, David Ghosling, currently a life member of Clare Hall College and previously the Principal of Edward’s College, Peshawar and Dr. Shailaja Fennell, Senior Lecturer at Centre of Developmental Studies and Fellow at Jesus College. Dr. Ghosling, in his welcome address, was highly appreciative of the fact that about fifty percent of the delegation comprised of females, which proves that Pakistan is making significant progress when it comes to female education. Dr. Fennell then proceeded with explaining the admission process of the university and its distinctive features. She explained that the university promotes self study and traditional learning. It encourages its students to go beyond the scope of their syllabi and disciplinary boundaries. The students were told that the university conducts its graduation ceremony in Latin, depicting that it values its traditions and that students are awarded their degrees on the basis of ‘soundness of character’. Shaleem Jacob from the department of biotechnology and Arsalan Ghani from manufacturing engineering shared their experience as the students of the Cambridge University. This was followed by a short question-answer session after which Dr. Irfan took the group for a short campus tour.
The students were spell bound as they saw the picturesque views of King’s, Clare Hall, Trinity (where Sir Isaac Newton and Dr. Allama Iqbal studied), Westminster and St. Johns (the largest college of Cambridge as well as the institute where Dr. Abdus Salam pursued his higher education). They also visited Allama Iqbal’s place of residence during his stay at Trinity as well as River Cam, that flows through Cambridge. The students were of the view that certain things that are practiced here should also be implemented in Pakistan: firstly, students from different ethnic groups should be given various opportunities to interact by enrolling a diverse group of students and through social events such as fund raising, etc. They also expressed the view that there is a need to upgrade the facilities offered at our universities and budget should be made available for this purpose. They appreciated that the British still valued their cultural heritage so much that they preserved their historical buildings, an example that our country ought to follow. The students also lauded the services of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for the promotion of education.
