“Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of this nation, was a lawyer; he is a role model for all of us. I encourage the youth to pursue the legal field and know your rights in a better way, and fight for the rights of others in the court of law. This is a two- way duty; professional development and public service,” said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

He was addressing the audience at the launching ceremony of the Sindh Inter Universities Consortium (SIUC) held in collaboration with the University of Northampton, UK, at Ziauddin University on Tuesday.

By motivating the students as a power of youth in the country, he said: “My dear students you carry, the responsibilities and your interest in education your integrity, honesty, sincerity for the job may elevate you to the highest position in the judiciary and this society looking towards you. I wish you success in all your future endeavors. Achieve excellence in your vocation for that is the way to win the world.”

“After observing the limitations of financial support to get admission in foreign colleges, we have taken the initiative to provide foreign qualification so that our capable, intelligent and brilliant students take leading positions in the local job market as well as the international market,” he added.

While emphasizing the importance of teaching, Shah said: “Without a proper faculty, quality legal education is impossible. The law teachers should be well-trained, well-paid, and committed to the cause. The poor quality of legal education in the country is taking its toll on the bench, the bar and ultimately the quality of justice.”

During the address, he highlighted the need for developing foreign linkages to make students competitive in the job market. He further stated that the province of Sindh had taken the lead in forming this consortium for the uplift of higher education in the country, just as it was the first province in passing the resolution of Pakistan. Other provinces would surely follow suit in forming such a consortium which would ultimately benefit our beloved Pakistan.

“To understand the concept of law, we need to understand the law first, and to understand the modern concept of law, we need to understand how to deliver law. One of the very first things that men learnt was to live in set of laws. From the Roman Empire to Muslim laws to common laws till date the whole world revolves around law,” said Chairman Sindh Higher Education Commission Dr Asim Hussain.

“Our law system is far behind than other countries. That’s why we decided to start this law program in collaboration with UoN. It is the first-ever program of its nature which is recognised by bar council of Pakistan and it will be taught by foreign faculty. Our graduates will be given Northampton’s degree and I can see that our law graduates will soon be recognised by the British Bar Council,” he added.

“By launching this program, we are opening doors of opportunities for our youth. Both universities put their expertise under the same platform. It is a great chance for youngsters to go abroad for higher education, and serve back to our country,” said Dr Asim Hussain.

Strictly criticising the education sector, he said we face a lot of problems in the education sector and it is our desire for other educational institutes to follow our footsteps and through overseas collaboration bring foreign education to Pakistan. He said we have to open our mind; we have to think big. We need to work really hard for our education. We have to look at primary and secondary education also. We need to change our education system.

During his speech, Dr Asim Hussain announced that two more programs would be introduced including paediatric and nursing in line with these degrees in law and business.

Addressing the audience, the Dean Academic Partnerships, University of Northampton, Prof Hastings McKenzie, said: “This program would provide great opportunity to Pakistani students to have exposure of foreign education and have learning with most new technologies and to get exposure of foreign culture and traditions. Digress from this program would be recognized by the bar council Pakistan. We further want to expend our programs to health and other fields.”

On the launching ceremony, Vice Chancellor University of Northampton Prof. Dr Nick Petford congratulated both countries on working together for the education sector. “I feel so honoured to inform you all that It took three years to complete this project. We wanted to introduce distance learning in a very easy way. We wanted to introduce opportunities to both countries, UK and Pakistan, with this partnership. This collaboration will result in the University of Northampton degrees being delivered under sub contract at universities in Sindh province. Ziauddin University and Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law will be the first to deliver UoN degrees under the arrangement.”

“I’m so glad to be a part of this consortium. This will bring a new era in the history of education. This is the best time to build up this partnership and great initiative to introduce creative and innovative teaching methods in Pakistan. This will be helpful for both countries,” Said British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi Mike Nithavrianakis.

Chairman Sindh Inter Universities Consortium (SIUCI), and Vice Chancellor Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto University of Law Justice (retd) Zia Perwez said in his welcome address: “I am lucky to be a part of this partnership between the UK and Pakistan. Our objective is to provide foreign education to the Pakistani students on much reduced cost. Our students are the future of our country and they are brilliant, intelligent and very hard-working. They are trained to solve problems. They are trained to be role model of society. I’m pleased to notify that a young student who wants to study further would not face difficulty now onwards.”