The NED Experience

I promised myself I'd never enter its premises, let alone actually study there. Friends and teachers back in A levels had warned me about it, and so when I finally graduated from school-Hallelujah!-it was never on my list of universities to apply to. But that's the thing about life. We plan, fine-tune details, and plan some more but we often end up where we least expected to. That's life's sense of humour. Fate's way of putting us in line. (Yes, I believe in destiny.) And so I ended up in NED, Karachi, Pakistan. The first thing I realized was that I was wrong about this place. 

A year's passed since that first day in this university. And during that time, NED has grown on me in ways I could never have imagined. Of course, there are days when I do hate it. Days when I would like nothing better than to get on a plane and beg MIT, or any other foreign university for that matter, to take me. But those have become less and less frequent with time. And I know I won't. I'd miss the Humanities Garden too much and the Electronics Department and the road leading up to the Girl's Gym. I'd miss seeing the imposing-looking sign over the entrance 'NED University of Engineering and Technology'. It's true. Man really does acclimatize to his environment, no matter how adverse it might have seemed in the beginning. At times, I wonder if this is elaborate scheming on the university's part. Because my irrational liking for the Mechanical workshops makes me overlook the more crucial aspects NED pretty much lacks in. Education? A substantial social life? But I exaggerate.


What astonishes me the most is how warped NED's image has become, particularly in A level institutions. The education in NED is reasonable. More than half of my teachers are pretty good. True, a more practical approach to education would be more than welcome, but from what I've learned from studying in Pakistan's educational system for the past ten years, is that the same can be said for universities all over the country. The best thing about NED is that students (most of them, if not all) have got that drive to excel and it's heartening to see how much they have accomplished with whatever they have. NED is a government-owned institute, after all, and funding is hard to come by. But I was amazed with how excellent of a resource the library is. Our departments organize major technological events like SPEC and TECHelite annually. And if you're into the arts, or extracurricular, there are so many societies to join. Given all that gets thrown around about government colleges, NED surpassed the standards I had set for it. The classrooms are well-maintained, and the grounds well taken care of. 

NED students are a different story altogether. Since I belonged to an A level background, adjusting to the crowd was difficult. I don't know what it is exactly that makes Intermediate students so different from A level students, and I don't wish to discriminate either. What we talk about, the way we express ourselves, our priorities in life are all so unlike, it's crazy! But I've learned a lot and I'm finally beginning to feel like I'm building long-lasting friendships. And what I appreciate the most is how affordable NED is. We might be going through an economic crisis, but (almost) everyone can send their kids to NED! 

Two years ago, my life was headed in a completely different direction. And then I fell in love (unfortunately or fortunately...only time will tell) with NED.