Educationist Professor Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui passes away at 76.

KARACHI -- Educationist and Vice Chancellor of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Sukkur Professor Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui passed away on Monday. He was 76.

According to his family members, Siddiqui was suffering from heart and kidney problems and was admitted to the hospital last week, where he died at 6 am on Monday. He would be laid to rest in Khairpur.

Siddiqui had dedicated his life to education, providing opportunities for equitable and quality schooling for students in rural Sindh. Professor Siddiqui was the founder of Sukkur IBA University and laid its foundation in 1994, starting with two classrooms of a public school. Professor Siddiqui transformed the university to a state-of-the-art campus that has been ranked among the country's top educational institutions.

Upon retirement from government service, he was appointed as the varsity's director in 2004. With his utmost efforts, IBA Sukkur became an interdependent degree-awarding institution in 2006 after a bill was passed in the Sindh Assembly. The institute acquired the status of a full-fledged university in 2017 and he became its founding vice chancellor.

He also pioneered the concept of community colleges in Pakistan. Presently, 13 community colleges and over 40 schools are operating under the umbrella of IBA University, Sukkur.

Siddiqui had acquired experience in management, administration, and academia at national and international levels.

He transformed IBA Sukkur into an institute symbolising merit, competence and innovation. During his tenure as the director, the university emerged as a leading institute of Sindh that attracted students and faculty from all areas of Pakistan.

'A man who rose from the bottom of society, struggled restlessly and espoused virtues and a vision for a meaningful change in society, gave great meaning to his life. He has...