ISLAMABAD: “Till the last minute National University of Modern Languages (Numl) kept confirming that the university will reopen on Monday.

So I travelled from Lahore to Islamabad with my children on Sunday morning.

The minute I reached I found out that winter vacation had been extended by another 10 days,” said a teacher at Numl.

She complained that Numl had kept students and faculty members in a state of uncertainty.

“At least the university should have announced this decision on Saturday evening,” she said.

Indecisiveness of universities regarding end of winter vacation creating difficulties for students and teachers

The sudden announcement of extension of winter vacation at National University of Modern Languages, National University of Science and Technology (Nust) and Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) caused difficulties for students and faculty members.

On Sunday Numl and Nust extended winter breaks till January 9 citing security concerns as the reason.

Other universities including Bahria University, FAST, Federal Urdu University of Arts and Science and Technology, and International Islamic University had already announced an extension of their winter breaks.

Students at Quaid-i-Azam University found themselves in a greater fix when the university was suddenly closed for an indefinite period of time.

Not knowing when the university would open students from out-of-town who live in hostels could not decide whether to go back to their hometowns or stay in Islamabad. “I don’t understand why the university could not announce a date as to when it would reopen.

“I want to go home but cannot because I don’t know when the university might reopen,” said Abdul Ghani, a student of Economic Department, who is from Mirpurkhas, Sindh.

Another student, Qudratullah, who is from Quetta, said hundreds of students from far-flung areas are facing uncertainty.

“We have no problems with the university closing but we should be given a date for reopening,” said MSc student Javaid Malik, who hails from Hyderabad.

Talking to Dawn, a QAU spokesperson said the university will take a decision on Monday or Tuesday.

“Following the closure of university, a majority of boarding students had gone home however those who come from Sindh and Balochistan are still staying at the hostels.

“I hope things will be clearer in the next two days,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2014