21 January 2004	Wednesday	28 Ziqa'ad 1424

KARACHI, Jan 20: Rangers will be deployed at six "sensitive" colleges in the city soon to avert any law and order situation. A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level meeting convened by Adviser to Chief Minister Sindh on Home Affairs , Aftab Ahmad Shaikh, at his office on Tuesday.

The meeting focussed on the role of various student organizations and discussed measures to curb violence and ensure peaceful academic environment in educational institutions.

Briefing newsmen on the meeting, Mr Shaikh, who also chaired the meeting, said that following a request from education officials of the district government, it had been decided in principle that Rangers would be deployed on priority basis at some of the city colleges.

He said that since the posting of Rangers at all the colleges was not possible, the EDO Education had been asked to submit a list of institutions where he considered the situation alarming.

"Now that we have been provided with the list, necessary measures are being initiated in regard to deployment of Rangers there", he added. According to the adviser the colleges where Rangers are to be deployed are: Government College of Commerce and Economics, S M Arts and Commerce College, St. Patrick's College, Landhi/Korangi Boys College, Saify Institute of Technical Education and Swedish Pak Technical Institute.

Mr Shaikh said the meeting was the second in a series of meetings planned for preparation of a comprehensive and practical code of conduct for government and private sector educational institutions, including universities, colleges, schools, madressahs and other educational institutes.

He said further inputs would be taken for the code of conduct from teachers, student bodies and other quarters concerned. "The code of conduct will provide a mechanism for regulating various student organizations and ensuring decent behaviour by students enrolled with institutions.

To a question, he said though the federal government and higher courts did not allow student unions at educational institutions, different student organizations were an undeniable fact and the Sindh government was trying to manage things in that regard.

"Instead of overlooking the existence of students wings of political parties in educational institutions, we are trying to prepare a tool helping to regulate and rein in these "bagal bachha" bodies on campuses.

"Representatives of all the student organizations and their political patrons, or those who influence on them, will be invited in the next meeting," said the adviser, adding that student organizations on campuses would be asked to sign the code of conduct which would be finalized after a few more meetings.

The Tuesday meeting was attended, among others, by Provincial Minister for Education Irfanullah Marwat, DG Rangers Major General Javed Zia, IG Sindh Syed Kamal Shah, Additional Chief Secretary (Home), CCPO, DIG, EDO Education, DOs (Education) and Students' Adviser of the University of Karachi.

The representatives of AllPakistan Mohajir Students Organization, Peoples' Students Federation and Pakhtoon Students Federation also attended the meeting.

Mr Aftab Shaikh said IJT leaders had preferred to not to attend the meetings till the arrest of the killers of Shahid Aziz. The meeting suggested a complete ban on establishment of student organizations' offices at educational institutions and stalls or camps at the time of admission and other occasions within the institutions or in nearby areas. Restrictions on display of party flags and banners and chalking in campuses was also suggested for incorporation in the proposed code of conduct.