SSUET top officials condole NED Vice Chancellor’s demise

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The top officials of the Syed University of Engineering & Technology (SSUET), Karachi, have expressed heartfelt sorrow and grief over the death of Engr Abul Kalam, a former Vice Chancellor of the NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi, who passed away recently.

 

In separate condolence messages, the SSUET Chancellor, Engr Adil Usman, and Vice Chancellor, Prof Dr Jawaid H. Rizvi, have paid tributes to Engr Kalam for his services in the academic and engineering fields. 

They particularly recalled his services as Chairman of the Karachi Shipyard and the Chairman of the Pakistan Railways and noted that with his God gifted qualities he brought far reaching engineering improvements in these two organizations. 

In the field of engineering education they recalled, Engr Kalam led the turnaround in the NED University and during his tenure as Vice Chancellor and added many more departments. They prayed to Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant fortitude to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable and, no doubt, a national loss. 

Eng Abul Kalam held the distinction of being the country’s longest serving Vice-Chancellor of a public sector university. He died at the age of 90 at the South City Hospital in Karachi after a brief illness. 

Born on November 25, 1923 in the South Indian city of Vijayawada, he had received an acceptance letter from the University of Cambridge at the age of 17 but he didn't proceed due to the outbreak World War II. He did his graduation in Mathematics from the Loyola College, established under the University of Madras, in Chennai and completed his post graduation from the same institution in 1941. 

After having had successful stints as the helmsman of the large entities like Karachi Shipyard and Pakistan Railways, he was appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the NED University in December 1996. He was credited to have turned around the historic institution during his 16-year tenure with the 21st convocation on March 18, 2013 being his last public appearance just before retirement.