ISLAMABAD, Oct 23: Hundreds of Bachelor of Engineering (Telecommunication) students of the Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) have called upon the corridors of power to use political influence and take notice of the accreditation of their academic programme with the Pakistan Engineering Council.

Making the request in a protest demonstration here on Thursday, they said accreditation of this discipline was pending for the last many years and over 1,000 students had been enrolled in the programme.

The students locked up the entry points to the university, and office-barriers and students of other departments were also not allowed to enter the campus. They also torched tyres and chanted slogans supporting their demands.

The protesting students held the Allama Iqbal Open University administration responsible for prolonging the process of accreditation since it had not removed the shortcomings highlighted by the PEC inspection team.

According to them, six site visits have been conducted by the PEC technical experts for the accreditation and the administration was told to establish labs and introduce one more course of optical fiber in the programme.

“However, the administration following its tradition took it lightly,” they said.

“With only two months left in the completion of our four-year degree programme, the administration is still not serious about the issue. What other option do we have except protesting for our rights,” asserted one of the students.

“We want to complete an accredited programme, the one that the university has been promising us for last many months, however, the administration is not willing to do its part of the job to ensure our professional future,” he added.

“Now they tell us to take examination for the final semester that is to be held after two months.

However, our degree will not be considered a complete one by the Pakistan Engineering Council unless we are taught ‘optical fiber’ as instructed by the council.

Introducing this subject in current semester is not possible,” another student lamented.