By: Rizwan Ali Khan
They say Greece was not built in one day. It took blood, sweat and tears of Greeks and centuries of perseverance before Greece could call itself great. However, it took few miscalculated moves and careless decisions to bring its downfall. Same goes for educational institutions as well and the story of Government College Hyderabad is the same with only one difference. This Greece can still be saved only if the concerned quarters realize its need and take immediate action. Since one cannot deny the fact that there is an urgent need to establish universities for the burgeoning youth, but not by shutting down well established institutions like Government College Hyderabad and establishing GC university on its ashes.
Established in 1917 over a hundred acre of lush green piece of land on the right bank of Phulleli canal, it was an institute tailored to the needs of the pupils coming from the length and breadth of Sindh. The aim was to provide the pupils with international standards of education. For which, Mrs. Annie Besant, renowned political figure, was invited to set the standards and Prof. Dr. Ernest Wood was appointed as its first Principal. The institute was christened as Sindh National Arts College, which was later changed to Diyaram Gidumal National College after the name of one of the leading trustees of “Diwan Metharam Gidumal Darmada trust”, which was behind the creation of this historic institution.
The said institution was equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in the truest sense of the word and was updated every few years to match with the pace of an ever-changing and ever moving world. It had spacious classrooms, huge and well-furnished library, playgrounds, boarding and lodging etc. The whole shebang that makes an institution a high quality institution were there. Later in 1921, it also offered its pupils the degree of Bombay university with which it got affiliated after paying a hefty sum of Rs. 100000. In other words, it worked on the student-centered and need based principles and as the needs of the students changed, it also adapted itself accordingly. It was recognized as one of the greatest institutions to adorn the province. This attracted pupils from all the strata of the society. However, when a student ran through this mill, his personality changed completely. A glance in retrospect shows that it produced world reputed doctors, engineers, businessmen as well as politicians who later served as ministers and prime ministers.
Today, however, the pupils who seek admission here mostly hail from the lower stratum of society. Therefore the need for this institution is even more pressing than ever before since it provides them with high quality education. It still has a large playground, a huge and well-furnished library, scientific laboratories, computer laboratory and what not. Cumulatively, It is a great asset to the Sindh Government and establishing another institution of this calibre would be a herculean task. Therefore, it is requested to the Sindh Government that it should keep this great institution within its purview and the new university may kindly be established in Khathar where it was supposed to be established. Otherwise nobody will be able to save this Greece of Sindh from an eventual doom, which is written on the wall.