In 2002, on a social development tour across Mianwali, I came across an appalling reality that haunts most of Pakistan – high level of unemployment amongst the youth. I resolved to set up a technical college so that the youth could become employable. However, two things made me change my mind and instead, I decided to b\uild a world class University. First, was the beautiful location of the site (donated free of cost by the villagers), which made me dream of a knowledge city like Oxford. Secondly, when I was offered the Chancellorship of the University of Bradford, I realized that I had access to an enormous academic support to pursue this dream. I am under no illusion that it is a huge challenge to set up a centre of excellence in such a remote though beautiful location. It will require a huge amount of funds to make it a university of international standard.
I want to see over half the students in the university coming from less privileged backgrounds through scholarships, who in our present elitist education system cannot dream of having access to high quality education.
I once again look forward to your help to shoulder the responsibility of educating our youth and paving the path for their brighter futures.
