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December 21, 2007

Denationalized Forman Christian College sees rapid growth, especially Christian students

President says more financial aid key to revitalization

by Peter  H. Armacost
President, Forman Christian College

Editor’s note: Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan, was founded by Presbyterian missionaries in 1864 and was widely regarded as the best university on the Indian subcontinent until it was nationalized by the Islamic government of Pakistan in 1972.

But during the thirty-one year period of nationalization academic standards were lowered, the beautiful campus fell into disrepair, Christian students were systematically denied admission, and Christian faculty members were denied employment.

In March 2003, FCC was denationalized and returned to the Presbyterian Church (USA).  It is operated under Christian management and a Christian Board of Governors. Since denationalization, at Forman Christian College:

• The number of Christians on the faculty has grown from four to 72;
• The number of Christian students has increased from 20 to 709;      
• There is now an active religious life program which features Chapel services, regular program of Bible study for Christian students, and an active Student Christian Movement.  Three congregations worship on campus each Sunday in three different languages;
• More than 3,600 Muslim students each year are being taught discipline and the core values that are embraced by FCC as a Christian college in an Islamic Republic;
• The college has been granted university status which enables it to determine its own degree requirements;
• FCC launched development of  a new four-year Bachelors degree program in March 2005, worthy of accreditation in the U.S., which will be unique in Pakistan. The college has decided to make the Bachelors Degree program co-educational, and there are now 492 women enrolled;
• “Friends of Forman Christian College” have given more than $2.1million since the College was denationalized;
• The Chief Minister of the Punjab has awarded grants of $2.2 million which will cover the full cost of a new classroom building of 71,500 square feet, a major share of the funding for a new 163,000 sq. ft. Science Building, plus 35% of the cost for FCC to refurbish the campus buildings;
• The college has been awarded a grant of $5 million by USAID for new program development, faculty professional development, scientific equipment, technology, and the partial cost of a new science building. — Jerry L. Van Marter

LAHORE — I am sure that you are seeing much news about Pakistan in recent days.  This is a difficult time for the nation, and no one is able to predict the outcome of the present political turmoil. 

The irony of the situation is that President Musharraf really does want democracy for Pakistan, and he is sincere about his commitment to enlightened moderation as a path for the future of Pakistan. 

But the present actions of the government are clearly a setback for democracy in the near term. It is troubling that the president, who has provided more freedom for the media than any government in the history of Pakistan, has now curbed the freedom of the press.  However, there is plenty of anti-government rhetoric in the newspapers, and the activities of the opposition are fully reported. 

It is equally troubling that many Supreme Court judges have been removed, and that many fine judges refused to take the oath of office under the Provisional Constitutional Order declaring the emergency.  An independent judiciary is important, but so, too, is a balance of power with an independent executive branch of government. 

It seems to me that the Supreme Court under the leadership of the deposed Chief Justice clearly did not believe in an independent executive branch of government and was interfering with the normal operation of government in significant ways that were not based upon alleged illegal actions by the government. 

Whereas there was plenty of provocation for the action of the government, the widespread belief is that the emergency order was declared to preserve the possibility that the election of President Musharraf for another term would not be ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

Thus far, there has been no difficulty for Forman Christian College. We are able to operate with our full academic program and co-curricular activities.  We feel safe, and our movement is unrestricted. 

There are active student protests on other campuses, and our students are being urged to join the movement.  However, there has been only one small demonstration on campus, and it was conducted in a way that posed no problem for us. 

We hope that this situation will not change.  Those faculty members who were here in the 1980s are very fearful of outside groups trying to inflame students and develop active extensions of the religious-political groups that virtually destroyed FCC during that era.  We are determined not to let that happen, and so far it looks good.

On Nov. 5 we held our fifth convocation since denationalization in 2003.  President Musharraf was invited to be the chief guest, and he planned to attend until shortly before the convocation.  In the wake of the emergency order that he had declared only two days earlier, it was not a surprising decision.  He was very busy. 

He did, however, authorize the Governor to announce, on his behalf, a grant of Rs. 500 million ($8.3 million).  A nice consolation prize!  Now the task is to have the grant paid quickly in case there is a change in government. 

Another personality on the stage was Muhammadmian Soomro, the Chairman of the Senate (and Acting President when Musharraf is out of the country).  Mr. Soomro is also an FCC graduate, and has been selected as the Caretaker Prime Minister overseeing the election process during these next three months.

It was a busy week with Convocation on Monday, and on Saturday the dedication of our new business building named in honor of Chaudhary Pervez Elahi, the Chief Minister of the Government of the Punjab, who made the funds available for the construction of the building, which will house the business school and other social science disciplines.  It is the first building on campus named for a Muslim.  All the other buildings are named to honor Christian missionaries who shaped the future of FCC.  It is, I believe, a good symbol of our commitment to Interfaith Harmony. 

Our enrollment this fall is 4,330 — a growth of 38% since denationalization.  Of those,  2,216 are Intermediate students (high school 11th and 12th grades) and 2,114 are university students. 

Our enrollment of Christian students continues to grow dramatically!  We now have 709 Christian students compared to 20 in 2003 and 495 last year.  With the growth in the number of Christian students, we have a much greater need for scholarship support.  Well over 80% of the Christian students must have financial support or they will not be able to attend college.

And scholarships are making a difference in the lives of students and their families. 

Adil stopped me on campus the other day to report that his grade point average for two years is 3.06 on a 4.0 point system.  Adil is a Junior who came from a village in which there is no school.  He walked 7 kilometers a day, each way, to get an education, but was fearful that there would be no opportunity for higher education for him because the family simply has no money. 

A scholarship funded by Friends of Forman Christian College has enabled him to attend FCC.  He has done so well that he was selected to be a Fulbright Summer scholar and spent six weeks at the University of Tennessee last summer.

One indicator that our program is successful is the fact that we had five (5) students selected this summer for the Fulbright program.  Since there are only 36 students selected from over 100 universities, we are very pleased. 

The gifts from the Presbyterian Women’s Birthday offering and from the Hedco Foundation have made it possible for us to provide the first hostel for women on this campus.  We now have 22 women housed in one of the four blocks of the hostel.  A second block will be available for 26 women in January. 

The other two blocks cannot be completed until the government is able to remove the illegal occupants who live there.  We expect fairly swift action once the lawyers and judges reconvene the courts.

Amber is a young woman who would not be able to attend college without a residence in our hostel.  Her father is dead.  The uncle who supports the family wants Amber to drop out of college.  Amber’s mother was able to convince the uncle to allow Amber to remain in college only with the promise that she would be housed in North Hall on campus. 

There are many Christian and Muslim girls in villages and rural areas that we can educate only when we are able to provide housing for more women on campus.

God has been good to us, and we have much to be thankful for at Forman Christian College.  Who would have dreamed in 2002 that we would have been so successful in building our enrollment so rapidly, enrolling so many Christian students, hiring 72 Christian faculty members and 136 Muslim faculty members who are working well together, building two new buildings, and gaining the support of alumni and government leaders? 

The scholarship support provided by the Friends of Forman Christian College has truly made a difference in our ability to enroll so many Christian students.  Lives are being changed daily, and both the Christian community in Pakistan and the nation will be better in the future.