HYDERABAD: Seventy-five toppers were awarded gold and silver medals, 237 were given degreesfor graduation and 299 for doctorate in physiotherapy and pharmacy at the 5th convocation of the Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences (PUMHS) for Women in Shaheed Benazirabad on Saturday.

Twenty doctors received postgraduation degrees in15 different departments and 12 got diplomas in nine subjects, said the university`s vice chancellorProf Dr Gulshan Memon.

He said at the gathering that it was the first medical university in the province which was imparting education to women.

Thousands of graduates of this university were serving in different areas of the country for peoples` healthcare, he said.

Sindh Minister for Local Bodies Nasir Hussain Shah, who was chief guest at the ceremony, expressed the hope that the fresh graduates who had received their degrees in medical education would now serve the ailing humanity in their areas. They would discharge their responsibility with dedica-tion and honesty in their native districts and pe ople would hopefully benefit from their education and expertise,he said.

He said the Sindh government had always endeavoured to ensure equal rights for women and enable them to excel in the fields of education and health. The slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had established this medical university after upgrading the college and now the university was producing doctors and professors fulfilling the late Ms Bhutto`s dream, he said.

He said the Sindh government was providing job oppor-tunities to fresh medical graduates on the directives of PPP chairman and announced construction of an auditorium, provision of a bus and construction of a park in the university.

He said the process for distribution of financial assistance to flood-victims for repairing damaged houses has started in a number of districts. The flood-victims in other districts would also receive this assistance soon and the farmers would get Rs5,000 per acre subsidy, he said.

He said the Sindh government would be providing Rs5,000 per acre subsidy to flood-hit farmers in all districts. The victimswhose houses had been damaged would also be getting financial assistance. Its process had already started in some districts and would begin soon in other districts as well, he said.

Parliamentary secretary for health affairs, Qasim Siraj Soomro, said that educated youth were assets of Sindh and the country. The youths would play their role in the progress and development of the country and would keep struggling for better results as their success was outcome of their parents` sacrifices, he said, adding they would serve their native areas and the country.