THIS refers to the bias of the Punjab government in distributing  laptops to deserving students. The Chief Minister of Punjab, Shahbaz Sharif, announced the distribution of 125,000 laptops among the brilliant and talented students of the province.

However, laptops are not being given to the students of evening classes in universities/institutions. It is nothing but discrimination. Are those enrolled in the evening classes not students or don’t they pay their fees?

Are they not talented or not fulfilling the criteria? Don’t they belong to the province? Such bias is creating resentment among the students who take evening classes. They also have all the rights just like students who study in the morning classes.

The students who study in the evening are mostly those who work in the morning and continue their studies by taking evening classes. They are financially burdened and their families cannot bear their expenses. This gives them more rights and they should have been given priority by the Punjab government.

Moreover, students of evening classes are paying heavy fees (three times more than normal) to the institutions as compared to morning classes. For example, I am a student of department of English Language Teaching and Linguistics at the University of Punjab new campus, Lahore, in the evening session. I am paying Rs24350 per semester, whereas students of morning class pay Rs9,500 per semester.

The authorities are requested to set up a commission, consisting of educationists, to look into this discriminatory attitude and suggest ways and means to change this policy.

MUHAMMAD IMRAN University of Punjab Lahore