CHITRAL: The All Chitral Students Federation on Tuesday took out a procession in Chitral city to protest the provincial government for not allocating funds in the 2014-15 budget for the establishment of a university in the district.

Among protesters were girls from the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University’s Chitral campus.

It’s perhaps the first time in the district’s history that female students took place in a procession.

A protester said there were 40 degree colleges in Chitral, which were affiliated with the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Upper Dir but the varsity’s Chitral campus was located in a rented building.

“The building lacks basic facilities like library, laboratories, hostel facility, transportation and internet facility,” he said.

The protester criticised local political leaders over denial of funds saying they’d failed to protect the rights of the area.

Other protesters said they were unable to understand the rationale behind the establishment of four government universities in Upper Dir and Lower Dir, where there were a few degree colleges.

They said local PTI MPA Fauzia had time and again told them that the provincial government had allocated Rs500 million for the purchase of property for the SBBU Chitral campus but all that had turned out to be false.

Former Chitral MNA Maulana Abdul Akbar Chitrali criticised the provincial government’s slogan of ‘insaf and change’ asking if that change was to deny the people their basic rights to education.

“Is this PTI’s insaf (justice) to establish two more universities in Dir, where there are a few degree colleges neglecting Chitral, where there are more than 80 colleges? If this is insaf, then we, the people of Chitral, reject it outright,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 25th , 2014