LAHORE:Punjab Finance Minister MianMujtabaShujaurRehman has said the true wealth of any nation is not its treasury but its educated youth. The minister said this as a chief guest in the central ceremony of the 28th Annual Convocation of the University of Management and Technology (UMT) here on Tuesday.
The event saw an impressive turnout of graduating students, parents, faculty members, educationists, industrialists, business leaders, and UMT alumni from diverse sectors. According to the university administration, more than 2,000 students received their degrees this year. The graduating batch included 74 PhD scholars, 185 gold medalists, and 300 distinguished scholarship recipients. The finance minister warmly congratulated the graduates and said that the young achievers of UMT are not only celebrating the reward of their hard work but also represent a strong promise for Pakistan’s bright future. He remarked, ‘The true wealth of any nation is not its treasury but its educated youth.’
He said that Punjab is rapidly advancing toward a knowledge-based economy, supported by increased resources for higher education, expanded research grants, incubation centers, and international academic partnerships. He commended UMT for its academic excellence and its remarkable contributions in research, technology, engineering, business, and social sciences. He highlighted the Punjab government’s education-friendly policies and ongoing youth development initiatives. He stated that under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the province is experiencing one of the most comprehensive educational reform eras in its history.
He noted that transformative programmes for school rehabilitation, smart classrooms, digital libraries, modern IT laboratories, teacher training, and the development of higher education institutions are being implemented at an unprecedented scale. He emphasised that no deserving student in Punjab will be denied education due to financial barriers.
In this regard, he termed the CM Punjab Education Endowment & Scholarship Expansion Programme a milestone initiative that is enabling thousands of students to access quality higher education. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the UMT administration expressed gratitude to the minister and presented him with a commemorative shield.
