By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
(Pakistan News & Features Services)
The Hub School, a not-for-profit boys’ boarding school of excellence, has started its operations with 50 students thus making a cherished dream of the Ahmed E H Jaffer Foundation a reality.
Its inaugural batch of 50 students from all over the country has set the ball rolling as The Hub School, situated on the outskirts of Karachi in the vicinity of Northern Bypass near Sindh-Balochistan border, aims to forge a national identity and consciousness by fostering close links and cooperation amongst all students as Pakistanis.
"It will not only create a middle-class for future good leadership and good governance in all fields but will also produce young boys with character, discipline and integrity for a better world and a better and more prosperous Pakistan,” Abdul Kader Jaffer, the present President of Ahmed E. Jaffer Foundation and a former Pakistan's High Commissioner to UK, stated in an exclusive interview.
"Education is a Jaffer Family legacy to Pakistan. The Islamia School in Pune was founded in 1907 by Ahmed E H Jaffer’s great grand Father Khan Bahadur Haroon Jaffer,” he recalled and explained that his grandfather Sir Ebrahim Haroon Jaffer organized the first Muslim Educational Conference in 1920. His late-father Ahmed E.H. Jaffer introduced reforms as a member of the Indian Legislative Assembly in 1940 and later after partition in the Pakistan Legislative Assembly he raised several bills and motions for improvement and increase in the allocation for education.
“By the Grace of Almighty Allah, The Hub School has become operational and the classes have commenced. We have begun our journey with special prayers for the prosperity of the country, school and for the wellbeing of our respected donors,” Abdul Kader Jaffer, President of The Hub School, said.
He informed that after return from UK on completion of his assignment as Pakistan High Commissioner from 2000 to 2003, he had been working on this most challenging task of setting up a boarding school initially for 135 boys to be gradually increased to 800 boys in the next 5 years, followed by a boarding school for girls and finally a University of national stature on 240 acre of land donated by the family besides Rs 50 million in cash.
According to him a dormatory for 135 boys is in use while another dormatory for 135 girls will be ready by next year to start boarding school for girls which will start from next academic calendar in August 2017.
“The Hub School is the first boarding school in this area which will provide quality education to all on merit. We believe providing quality education to our youngsters is the only viable alternative to curb extremism and to produce leadership in all fields from young men and women who are broad-minded and enlightened,” Abdul Kader Jaffer, who founded the Ahmed E H Jaffer Foundation in 1996, observed.
“It is our mission to provide quality education to our younger generation at the Hub School as per the high standard available in USA and UK. I am sure we will be able to achieve these objectives with the kind and generous support of all our friends, relations and well-wishers both in Pakistan and abroad,” he hoped.
“The objective of the Ahmed E H Jaffer Foundation is to work mostly but not limited to in the fields of education, healthcare and sports and for this purpose raised a fund of over Rs 800 million from generous donors in Pakistan and abroad,” he shared.
He remarked that the institution has a Board of Governors comprising of quite a few eminent personalities like Aitzaz Shahbaz, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Lt Gen Tanwir Hussain Naqvi, Ghazala Nizami, Ismail Zakaria, Mian Mukhtar Ahmed, Aliuddin Ahmed, Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, Dr Masuma Hasan, Professor Haroon Rasheed and Professor Mohammad Rais Alvi.
He revealed that the Board planned to meet on November 21 in which some important matters concerning The Hub School will be discussed.
