Abdul Wali Khan University Promoting Quality Education!!!

Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, established in April 2009, has been playing an extremely important role in promoting quality education at large. The University has been growing rapidly and in a short span of time it is being looked asacenter of research and intellect.AWKUM has affiliation with 55 colleges, 23 of which are from Government Sector whereas 32 from Private Sector.The University is a great attraction for the students of the region since for the sake of quality education;they do not have to live far away from their families anymore. It would not be wrong to add that with the establishment of the University, the entire region, especially the city of Mardan, Swabi and Charsadda, witnessed a revolution carried out with the power of knowledge.

This is all I knew about AWKUM before I had any personal experience with the institution itself; accompanied with a lot of negative perceptions somehow created. When I first came across an advertisement in the newspaper for vacant posts in Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, I kept on reading the advertisement and as I had freshly graduated, was seriously looking for an employment opportunity. Still I wasn’t much delighted because of the negative perceptions lingering in my brain.Since I was eligible for the posts advertised, I applied for the administrative post and soon received my roll number. I appeared for the test in July 2012. I, still remember, confidently walking out of the test room with lots of doubts about the transparency of the selection system. On my way I heard a group of candidates discussing the test, I joined them too in their discussion and got a little excited about the fact that the written test that I just gave was quite of a significant importance, contrary to my thoughts. I slipped out of that group and started conversation with another group of candidates where the discussion was not as pleasant as the previous one. This group was talking about the politics of the locality and the influence of the politicians in the hiring process. This however, lowered my morale quite a great deal and I couldn’t help having second thoughts and regretting my decision of giving the test rather than fancying a sound sleep at home.

After a few months of sheer silence, one chilly morning of November I got a call to appear before the selection board for an interview. Chills of excitement and nervousness passed through my entire body as I sat waiting for my turn. I couldn’t find one familiar face around the room as I was waiting, the rumors that my post has been negotiated upon, and somebody has already been appointed on the post I applied for, started to blur in my brain which led to a gentle and soothing smile on my face.Drowned in my thoughts, in a lot of excitement, in full confidence over my abilities and talent, I entered the interview room. I found three very well dressed gentlemen sitting in front of me who seemed to be interviewing me. The interview began and I was bombarded with all sorts of questions ranging from my name and qualification to why should I be given this opportunity? And in what way did I plan to do good to the University and the entire community etc. One of the gentlemen however, did not spare me at all and kept on asking me questions from all different angles. He had a very charming and dominant personality and I somehow enjoyed being interviewed by him. I can’t skip saying that he had unmatched leadership skills and was extraordinarily fluent and tactful with his communications. I later on found out that this gentleman was the vice chancellor of AWKUM, Prof Dr.Ihsan Ali who is the greatest contributor to education in Mardan and whom I would talk about in the later part of this article.

The interview was over and a month had passed by and the doubts were growing in my mind, rage and hopelessness were taking over when I got an unexpected call from the registrar office of the University and was asked to collect my appointment letter. I really couldn’t believe at once that I could get an appointment without knowing a single person at the institute and with that a feeling of guilt started growing inside my heart that I doubted such a transparent selection process. I went outrageous at myself for ever believing the senseless rumors about the university.By the time I joined the university it was quite clear to me that 90 percent of what is being negatively propagated about the university is not even near to what is considered as the ultimate truth.Hence things started off quite well. To my very surprise AWKUMbehind a small name is a very huge institution.The staff being so well trained and organized, the huge buildings being built, the faculty being trained and developed round the clock, students are kept engaged in curricular and extra-curricularactivities thus a healthy and nourished atmosphere is provided within the premises of the university.

Whenever AWKUM is discussed and praised for its performance & achievements there would always be one name on the lips of every one and no doubt that name is Prof. Dr. Ihsan Ali. With sincere and keen dedication of Prof. Dr. Ali, of enlightening the province rather than the region with the spark of education andwith a strong will to maximize the literacy rate and do something genuinely good for the people, Prof. Dr. Ali took the University from just a table and a chair(that too were borrowed) to the zenith of success, from the once barren fields and scary jungles to the nucleus of upbringing, nurture and off course quality education that is accessible to the common masses.What is worth mentioning over here is the leadership style of Prof Dr. Ali. His optimism and his ‘Yes we can do this’ attitude is much appreciable. I have seen him walking in the rain to inspect the staff, I have known him sitting till midnight working restlessly, I have seen him walking in the scorching sun pointing towards the lush green lawns, the newly constructed buildings, video conference rooms and the several departments saying to his peers “Look at these people, the poor, the average and the upper class, all quenching their thirst for knowledge in one university. I know it seems and feels good but this is not where the dream ends, the dream rather begins here”

His cooperation and appreciation towards the employees and his consideration towards their ideas is exemplary. With his outstanding administrative skills Prof Dr. Ali has been running the university quite handsomely. It was one campus, the Main Campus initially, and then it added up another 8 campuses making it a total of 9 campuses. This is something for which Prof. Dr. Ali must be credited, managing 9 campuses and all situated in different corners of the province. Not just managing them rather managing them comprehensively. To add more to the credit of this extraordinary character, later on two of the nine campuses of AWKUMwere upgraded to separate universities (Bacha Khan Univesity Charsadda and University of Swabi).Along with his own duties and responsibilities of being the Vice Chancellor AWKUM, Prof. Dr. Ali has also been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of Islamia College University Peshawar in the early days of 2013. Due to his capabilities of being a great mentor, a spirited leader and an all-round performer Prof. Dr. Ali has always been put before challenging tasks and to the expectations of the admirers, he has always encountered them with zeal and courage. It must not be wrong to say about this legendary person “if he is given the authority, he could even establish a university in space and that too in no time”

Last but not the least, the mega project of the University, under the master plan of AWKUM, spreading over an area of 2000 canals just east of Sheikh Maltoon, would serve as an Education City consisting of University College, a University Public School. The Academic Blocks for more than 36,000 students, Administrative Block, Examination Branch, a Central Library that would have a space for 200,000 books, Computer Labs with latest technological equipment, Sports Complex, Auditorium accommodating 2,500 students, Swimming Pool, Apartments for staff and faculty, Houses for staff and faculty, Research Center which would provide the foreign scholars as well as the university scholars with an ambient environment to undergo their researches in, Cafeteria, Botanical Garden, Mosque, Student Centre, 12 Student Hostels to accommodate over 4,000 students, Museum, Zoological Garden, IT Centre, Shopping Centre, Media Centre and Pukhtunkhwa Study Centre.

A person so much involved in catering education to the masses that he is always on the run for making it easier and easier for the masses to attain quality education at door step, a person so much involved in bringing revolution through the power of pen that he even stays unaware of light and darkness,Prof. Dr.Ali,is the epitome of hard work, passion, commitment and dedication. It is being prayed that he achieves what he desires to achieve, and may he be further strengthened to do more and more. Good Luck and May God Bless You. (Aameen).