Lahore, September 01, 2023 (PPI-OT): Diversity is a driving force of students’ development, therefore, universities like the University of Lahore (UOL) enrol more and more foreign students to foster a culturally diverse campus environment, offering its students the opportunities to get exposure to the world they live in. UOL endeavours to provide all the essential facilities to its international students and its efforts were recently acknowledged by two of its Afghan students.
The Afghan students at UOL namely Mr Naqibullah Mashwani and Mr Safiullah Ahmadzai (BS Politics and International Relations), became part of a documentary, sharing their experience of studying at UOL. The documentary was made for a contest titled: “Afghan Students Short Documentary Contest” organised by Higher Education Commission (HEC). Mr Mashwani and Mr Ahmadzai’s documentary won third position.
In their documentary, Mr Mashwani and Mr Ahmadzai shared that they both got the ‘Allama Muhammad Iqbal Scholarships for Afghan Students’ and started their academic journey at UOL. “For many Afghan students, getting access to higher education is not easy, but with scholarships like this one, we can pursue our dreams of getting quality education,” both students stated their views in the documentary. Financially, the scholarship proved to be a huge help as they did not have to worry about paying for tuition or other expenses.
UOL proved to be a good learning environment for these Afghan students. According to them, campus life at UOL is great, many opportunities are available for students to get involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities. Students have access to some of the best teaching faculty, research and lab facilities. For these Afghan students, adjusting to Pakistan was not easy at first, but the university provided them with a lot of support, including counselling services to help them adjust to being away from home.
Stating their impression of Pakistan, they said, “There are so many cultural similarities between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have experienced a very welcoming attitude here. The language barrier was a challenge at first, but we have been able to improve our English skills. One of the best experiences we have had here in Pakistan was visiting the Allama Iqbal tomb. Allama Iqbal was not only a great poet but also a philosopher. His teachings have inspired us to pursue our dreams.”
Both the students showed their gratitude in their documentary for the scholarship and the opportunities UOL has given to them, and they hope that more Afghan students can have access to quality education in Pakistan.
For more information, contact:
The University of Lahore
1 – KM Defence Road, Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-111-865-865, +92-42-35322501 +92-42-35321761
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.uol.edu.pk