KARACHI: Rowdyism at Urdu varsity disrupts examination
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 14: The female candidates of BA (private) annual examination at the Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology had to leave the examination rooms without completing their papers on Tuesday as a group of male students, after developing indifference with the teaching faculty on some issue, created rowdy scenes.
In the heat of moment, members of a students group entered the examination rooms and snatched away scripts from female students and did not allow them to complete their examinations. It is feared that a number of answer scripts were lost or torn off by the hooligans, said a senior teacher.
However, the examination for 700 male students was conducted peacefully at another block of the university’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal campus. The BA annual examination for private candidates had commenced on Tuesday and 135 female candidates were registered for the English paper held in the afternoon session.
A source in the campus said that members of students group argued and clashed with some teachers. Teachers body of the varsity had taken strong exception of the development and manhandling of some teachers and decided not to take classes on Wednesday, added the source saying that any decision about the conduct of examination further on the campus would be taken on Wednesday morning.
It was learnt that some 4-6 students had approached the in charge of the admission cell of the university at his office in the old block of the university, where the examination of the woman candidate was also in progress.
The group allegedly wanted the in charge to act as they say in regard to admission of a couple of students, but upon the refusal of the in charge, the group developed a dispute with him and resorted to his physical assault as well.
Later on their way out, they disturbed the female candidates taking exams.
The hooligans were joined by other colleagues from outside and thus a free for all scenes emerged, said a teacher, adding that 3-4 teachers trying to mediate or stop the aggressive students from creating nuisance were also hit by the students.
When asked how the clash was allowed to take place in the presence of the Rangers deployed on the campus or why the students were not stopped from entering the woman examination centre the teacher said that perhaps the Rangers did not act as they had no permission to intervene.
The unruly mob caused panic and distress among the female candidates, while some of them were deprived of their belongings like handbags, said some of students.
An FIR no 200/2005 against those responsible for this hooliganism has been registered at the Aziz Bhatti Police Station.
