FAISALABAD, Dec 28: Students of the National College of Textile Engineering threatened on Saturday that they would hold a protest demonstration on Monday against the expulsion of 12 students and failure of the administration to reduce fee.

A group of students told newsmen here that the administration was playing in the hands of anti-education mafia which wanted to grab the land and building of the college.

They condemned the administration for expelling 12 students from the college hostel with the help of police. They claimed that the administration ‘attacked’ the hostel on Friday night with the assistance of police and expelled students for one year.

They said they had been protesting against raise in fee and giving the college the status of a private university for the last two-and-a-half-month. They were assured by the government and college administration that their demands would be accepted immediately after Eidul Fitr but they still await fulfilment of the promise, they added.

They alleged that office-bearers of All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association were conspiring to grab the college land and convert it into a private university to save taxes.

The APTMA and college management had raised annual fee from Rs34,000 to Rs83,000 without any justification and now planning to get permission to convert the college into university for financial gains, they added.