Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has offered his support for the immediate establishment of a School of Nursing at the University of Karachi, saying he will facilitate progress on the proposal once a formal request is received from the university’s vice chancellor.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Career Connect event organised by the University of Karachi’s Department of Computer Science, Kamal said he would call an emergency meeting of the Nursing Council as soon as Vice Chancellor Dr Waseem Qazi formally writes to him regarding the proposed nursing school.
The proposal was initially discussed during a one-on-one meeting between Kamal and Dr Qazi at the Vice Chancellor’s Secretariat before the ceremony.
Kamal said the University of Karachi was “our mother” and urged its administration to provide students with proper direction. He said the new vice chancellor had identified the university’s problems within a short period and expressed hope that meaningful changes would follow.
Nursing Shortage Highlights Need for New Institutions
Referring to the proposed nursing school, the federal minister said around 5,500 Pakistani nurses and approximately 550,000 nurses from a neighbouring country are working abroad. He said the world needs around 2.5 million additional nurses, while Pakistan requires about 900,000 nurses.
Kamal also highlighted broader challenges facing Pakistan’s healthcare system, saying overcrowding at hospitals and long waiting times were signs of a system under severe pressure.
He said healthcare was not limited to building hospitals, stressing the importance of population management, clean drinking water and broader social development. He added that improving healthcare could not be achieved by the federal health minister or prime minister alone.
Minister Raises Concerns Over Population and Public Services
Kamal said Pakistan’s rapidly growing population was putting increasing pressure on available resources. Referring to the 2023 census, he said millions of children are born every year and argued that population growth needs to be addressed alongside development planning.
He also highlighted education and maternal and child health challenges, saying millions of children remain out of school and that Pakistan continues to face significant maternal and child mortality.
Discussing governance and public services, Kamal said poor governance does not create electricity, water or roads but can contribute to public frustration and alienation.
University Plans Digital Transformation and New Technology Programmes
Vice Chancellor Dr Waseem Qazi said the Department of Computer Science had been renamed the Umer Basha Institute of Computer Technology. He said three programmes are currently being offered and the university is seeking accreditation from both national and international accreditation bodies.
Qazi said the university was moving towards a paperless system and expected the department’s operations to be fully digitised within two months.
He added that the Chinese Consul General had shown interest in establishing a Pak-China Centre of Artificial Intelligence for Cyber Security at the university.
The vice chancellor said the university was also restructuring its curriculum to give students greater exposure to industry. He said a Business Incubation Centre would be established within six months to help students launch their own businesses and create employment opportunities rather than only seek jobs.
Computer Science Department Expands Academic Programmes
Chairman of the Department of Computer Science Dr Sadiq Ali Khan said Career Connect was organised to strengthen links between academia and industry.
He said around 2,500 students are currently studying across three disciplines: Computer Science, Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. The department also plans to launch BS Cyber Security and MS Data Science programmes.
Khan said connecting the Public Welfare Office with technology was among the department’s goals, while the university’s graduates were increasingly being linked with the global technology sector.