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KalSoft Launches Virtual University Software

It is highly customizable software that can be tailored according to the need and requirements of an institute or organization

By AMANULLAH BASHAR
 Feb 12 - 18, 2001

Information Technology (IT) is the language of 21st century and without learning it any progress and prosperity is not possible and at the same time it is equally important for economic survival with honour and dignity. Realizing the paramount importance of IT, Kalia group has formed three different IT organizations.

Hanif S. Kalia, Chairman, and Kalia Group made these observations while delivering the keynote address at the launching ceremony of the first Virtual University Software developed by KalSoft (Pvt.) Ltd, a project of Kalia Group.

Speaking on the occasion, Hanif Kalia said that KalSoft, a software house is a complete commercial project has earned a respectable position in the IT world in a short period of less than a year by developing the largest interactive website of Pakistan (KalEd). KalSoft is headed by Abdul Ghaffar Memon, the IT pioneer in Pakistan who has recently certified by NCR Gold Medal Award. Beside a team of outstanding IT graduates, KalSoft has the honour of having the professional support by Khurram Hanif Kalia, a multiple gold medallist from the FAST, who has been recently declared as the genius-2000 by the prestigious Karachi Club.

KalPoint.com and KalEd are the two unique products of KalSoft having the potential to carve a place for Pakistan on the world IT map, said Hanif Kalia with a sense of pride.

Spelling out the salient features of the three products, Kalia said KalPoint.com is the socio-economic project which is the largest interactive web-site in Pakistan spread over more than 2000 pages. KalPoint is providing free public services in more than 15 sectors including Prize Bonds, Foreign Exchange, Real Estate, automobiles, Running Business etc and a lot of information from education to showbiz. KalPoint is playing a great role in creating awareness among Pakistanis regarding IT in general and Internet, e-Commerce in particular.

He said that Ko-Ordination Group (KrG) is yet another social organization of Kalia Group, which is doing its best to spread and to provide IT education and training by establishing a number of Computer Institutes/Labs, and by providing scholarships and even computer sets to the deserving students. KrG has also played a prominent role in setting up Sir Adamjee Institute of Technology (SAIT) which is well set to start Bachelors and Masters Degree courses in near future. A number of computer institutes/labs are still in process of establishment of which network will be linked to SAIT only to provide job-oriented quality IT education and training of international standards to make Pakistan 'a true IT power,' said Hanif Kalia.

Speaking on the occasion, Abdul Ghaffar Memon, Chief Executive of KalSoft Pvt Ltd, said that the software of the Virtual University developed by the Kalsoft was earlier offered free of cost to the federal government as well as the provincial governments as a gesture of goodwill to promote quality education in Pakistan. Dr. Attaur Rehman, federal minister for Science and Technology has given his consent to make use of this Pakistani software with its application in the forthcoming Virtual University project sponsored by the government. The federal minister has assigned Dr. Naveed the job of establishing the virtual university in Pakistan. Ghaffar Memon who is the pioneer of IT sector in the country, disclosed that beside universities in the private sector in Pakistan some foreign universities have given positive response regarding the software. He expressed the hope that concerted efforts currently being made may earn a top position for KalSoft in export earnings for the country.

Elaborating the concept of virtual university software, Khurram Kalia, the director of the project said that it provides all the facilities of physically scheduled classes where students and teachers can interact. Khurram said that it is a revolutionary idea that will breakdown all conventional boundaries of the monotonous structure of the prevailing educational environment. It is like a savior for students living in the far off areas of the world who have to go to developed countries for attaining quality education at the cost of leaving homeland and family as well as costly travelling, boarding and lodging expenses. KalEd is a completely web-based application, which is portable, and need not to be installed on any particular computer. It is highly customizable software that can be tailored according to the need and requirements of an institute or organization, Khurram said.