SWABI: No college, either for girls or boys, in the Swabi district has transport facility for students, as a result of which, the pupils are forced to travel by the overcrowded public transport.

College teachers and students told Dawn that pledges made by the politicians and college managements to make available the transport facility to them were never honoured.

There are eight boys and seven girls colleges in the district.

Even, the students of University of Swabi and Women University of Swabi complain about not having a proper transport facility.

The teachers and students of colleges said in the absence of transport facility they were forced to travel by public transport, which not only had impact on their pockets, but also wasted their precious time.

The students complained that they suffered immensely as public transport always remained overcrowded and they were unable to get a foothold. “Conductors often don’t allow us to have a seat,” Babar Zada, a student of first year, lamented.

“We sometimes have to travel while sitting on the roofs of buses or handing by the sides of pickups, putting our lives at risk. But, we have no choice except to suffer the hardship,” Ayaz Khan of Chota Lahor, deplored.

Abbas Ali, a resident of Tarbela Dam colonies, said his sister wanted to get admission in BS mathematics in Women University Swabi, but when they came to know that the varsity did not have transport facility, they shelved the decision.

He said boys could travel on roofs of vehicles which was not possible for girls. A faculty member of a girls college requesting not to be identified said that often the students missed the early classes as they reached late at their colleges. He said it was responsibility of the educational institutions to provide bus service to students.

The teachers said the colleges probably didn’t have enough funds to have bus service, and asked the authorities to realise the gravity of the situation.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2016