From an institution mired in controversies, inefficiency of some of the faculty members, conventional teaching approaches, politicization of the faculty, and corrupt practices of officials in collusion with the owners of affiliated private institutions, the University of Sargodha has made big strides in the last few years. Since the arrival of the new vice chancellor, Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed, the University has seen proactive, performance-oriented approaches, innovation and transparency with the help of the faculty as well as the board of directors.
Farhana Kanwal
Previously, poor management and prevalence of patronage system at University of Sargodha had brought a bad name to the institution. A discriminatory pattern of decision making, sidestepping the statutory bodies had practically debilitated the institutional structure and functionality. However, in 2017, the university took a step towards revamping the whole system including administrative structures and decision making processes within the boundaries of university ordinances. The university introduced important reforms in shape of inclusive approach, rule-based approach, digitization of the financial and administrative functions, revising and updating the outdated Service Statutes of the university, revamping the examination system and establishment of a legal cell, in order to improve and maintain the structural and administrative functioning of the university.
The university has taken important steps towards digitalized operations and services since 2017; hence, established the Directorate of Information Technology. The process contributed to enhanced work efficiency and service delivery as well as ensure transparency in academic and administrative affairs. Since 2018, the admissions have been conducted fully online. And, with the onset of the global pandemic in Spring 2020, the University was able to smoothly transition into online mode of learning through instituting the Learning Management System (LMS), including Course Evaluation Tool, Digital Affiliation and Registration System, Online Examination Portal and Automated Assessment Modules.
With digitalization of the operations and processes, it was very important to have a smart website alongside for support and smooth functioning of the system. In 2017, the university redesigned the university website which was launched in January 2021 with a fresh design and domain. The new website facilitates easy configuration and access to the required information.
The University of Sargodha alongside digitalization of the system also focused on the global outlook of the institution including international collaborations and composition of international students and faculty. The university has established Confucius Center, Pakistan Institute of China Studies, and International Centre for Punjab Studies. The University has concluded 19 MoUs since 2017 with reputed world institutions, including two leading agriculture universities of China in precision agriculture, citrus and sugarcane research, and dryland agriculture. Around 100 scholars from 35 countries, and university faculty and speakers from other universities in Pakistan, presented over 600 papers in 25 international conferences, symposia and seminars.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include 17 crucial priority areas for sustainable human development in each member-state. Universities, especially in the public sector, can contribute to meaningful national progress in implementing various SDGs by undertaking research and scholarly activities on local, social and economic issues. Besides encouraging relevant research, majorly in Social Sciences and Humanities, the University ran a webinar series during 2020, engaging 26 national and 16 international scholars from 12 countries on 9 SDGs.
A university is considered to be the last place in shaping a student’s mind before entering professional life. Hence, it is essentially important for the universities to have mechanisms to help students acquire basic skills to compete in professional lives. The university also has a Career Development Center to guide students on job market requirements.
In 2019, the university established an Incubation Centre to provide and train students with entrepreneurial activities to nurture and commercialize their innovative ideas. It provides management guidance, technical assistance and consultation tailored to the needs of startup founders without incurring any financial burden on them.
The University of Sargodha and the US Consulate General have a collaborative project with the name of Lincoln Corner to promote interactive learning through its inclusive and diverse activities. It connects students to practice their English language skills.
To honor a great literary figure, Riaz Shad Cocurricular Forum was established in 2018. It has 18 societies and clubs that foster leadership skills and critical thinking among students, provide training workshops, networking opportunities with national and international organizations, organize literary festivals and scholarly events. Since 2018, the forum has organized the annual Sargodha Literary Festival (SLF), which has established its niche in the literary circles across Pakistan with the active participation of prominent scholars, artists, literary figures and musicians.
The university established Zubeida Agha Art Gallery in 2019 to pay tribute to the founder of Pakistani modern art. The gallery has emerged to be a national center for the people with artistic skills and curates’ solo exhibitions and group shows as well.
A counselling center is established by the university for students and faculty members to develop their potential to achieve their professional goals in 2020. It addresses to the social, educational, psychological and emotional needs of the students, faculty and staff.
The university has 10 selection boards that have recruited as much as 410 new faculty and staff members since 2017. These recruitments are made on the basis of their professional competencies. The addition to the faculty and staff has improved the academic profile of the University, the quality of its academic programs, including the Teacher Student Ratio, and enabled the Quality Enhancement Cell to run the Continuous Professional Development program for the teaching faculty since 2019.
Since 2017, the university has revamped the Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) to encourage the culture of productive and competitive research. It has resulted in increased number of publications, linkages at national and international level and capacity building of faculty members.
During 2017-2021, a number of MoUs have been signed between the university and various national organizations. The MOUs enabled the students and faculty members to conduct extensive research, and participate in trainings and internship opportunities. During the period of 2017-2021, the university organized 134 national conferences, workshops, seminars and webinars, besides 25 international conferences. This has been a major development compared to the preceding years and enabled the campus to become an effervescent place to promote critical thinking.
Before 2017, there was only one research journal of Educational Sciences and Research published by the university. However, due to the efforts made by the worthy Vice Chancellor Ishtiaq Ahmed, not only has it been recognized by the HEC, but seven more journals have been started by the seven Faculties including Journal of Agriculture and Food, Transactions in Mathematical and Computational Sciences, Transactions in Physical and Biochemical Sciences, National Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, Rekhta, Journal of Economics and Management Sciences, and Research Journal of Language and Literary Studies
One of the major indicators of progress of an institution includes infrastructure development as well. The University of Sargodha has played its role from 2017-2021 when the sub-campuses at Mianwali and Bhakkar transitioned into new universities
The university has an energetic team at the office of publications and designs who publish quarterly newsletters on institutional progress and campus activities. These publications are circulated among various organizations, writer, educationists, and other stakeholders of higher education across the country.
Amid major reforms in 2018, the university ranking has also improved and been able to make its debut in international rankings.
Farhana Kanwal is a Peace and Conflict Studies’ graduate and working as a Program Manager at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad.Â
