MINGORA: Students of the Jahanzeb Postgraduate College, Saidu Sharif, staged rally on Saturday against the occupation of its IT block and girls hostel by the University of Swat (UoS).

The students started their march from the college and gathered in front of Swat Press Club. The protesters said that six years ago the two buildings of the Jahanzeb college were handed over to the university for five years under an agreement.

They said that the agreement had already expired and the UoS was not returning the buildings to the college. They said that over the years the number of college students had increased significantly and they needed the buildings.

“Currently, there are over 5,000 students in the college and due to shortage of space they face severe problems in taking classes,” said Ihtesham Kamal, a student in the college. He said that the administration of the University of Swat must follow the agreement and vacate the building as soon as possible.

The protesters said that over 250 girl students were studying in Jahanzeb college and most of them from far-off areas had been forced to live with relatives as their hostel was occupied by the UoS.

“The relatives are also fed up with the situation as they can’t afford to accommodate us in their houses,” said a girl of the college, adding that the girls would give up education if they did not get the hostel.

The students also said that their college was ignored in the Prime Minister’s Laptop Scheme. “Over 3,000 students have qualified for the laptop scheme, but the University of Swat administration rejected them deliberately,” claimed Umar Farooq, another student of Jahanzeb college.

Syed Ibrahim, a student of BS Mathematics, said the students faced big troubles due to shortage of space after the IT block was handed over to the university.

The students also appealed to the higher authorities to play role in returning the IT block and the girls hostel to the college.

The students also urged the prime minister and higher education department to direct the university administration to release their laptops immediately.

According to the UoS administration, the building of the UoS was under construction and all the departments would move to its own building by Oct 2016.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2015

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