PESHAWAR: Despite getting assurances from the University of Peshawar vice-chancellor and chief minister’s adviser to hold monthly and weekly meetings to monitor progress on the resolution of their problems, the students united under the banner of the Muttahida Talaba Mahaz have refused to end their sit-in.

As the protest entered ninth day, the students, who pitched a tent and sat on the lawns just in front of the UoP’s administration block, didn’t seem to have any intention to go away.

The peaceful protesters alleged that the administration was using delaying tactics in meeting their demands and that they won’t be fooled by false promises and useless notifications.

“We’ve put up 13 demands, which relate directly to the university’s administration or the provincial government. We’d held talks few times since Nov 28 but are not satisfied with the way they have taken our demands. The UoP and provincial government are not taking us seriously,” said MTM general secretary and Islami Jamiat Talaba nazim Awal Sher Khan.

Insist admin delaying action on demands about academic, administrative issues

Protester Mohammad Waqar said for the last five years or so, the students had been bringing such issues to the notice of the UoP administration for corrective steps, but to no avail.

“We had held even a bigger protest in 2016 but we were cheated as our demands were not met. The UoP doesn’t care for us. It just wants us to end the sit-in through tactics,” he said.

The protester said students would only end the protest when notifications were issued to the relevant quarters and necessary action was taken on them.

He said the syndicate meeting had been put up from Dec 7 to Dec 12 just to waste the students’ time.

The Muttahida Talaba Mahaz demanded of the UoP to revert an annual increase of 10 percent in fees saying education in the public sector university was fast becoming expensive and unaffordable.

Its other demands were related to some academic issues as well as lack of facilities on campus. The students also demanded restoration of student unions and representation of students in the syndicate.

Senior student Royal Shakir said students should be given representation in the syndicate as if they were made part of decision-making process, they didn’t need protest.

In a statement issued here, VC Prof Mohammad Asif Khan claimed major demands of the sit-in students had been met and that an official notification in that respect had also been issued. The statement issued by the UoP said the decision to reverse increase in tuition fee had been put up to the syndicate, which was to meet on Dec 12.

The VC said the administration held talks with students on a daily basis and a breakthrough was made on Tuesday after adviser to the CM on higher education Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani showed up to address the grievances of sit-in participants.

The statement said the CM’s adviser promised to take up the issues of inclusion of BS programmes in the PM Fee Re-imbursement Scheme, special scholarships for tribal area students, especially displaced ones and accreditation of the electronics programme by the Pakistan Engineering Council with the Higher Education Commission and other federal government authorities for necessary action.

It added that the CM’s adviser didn’t accept the demand for withdrawal of the phasing out of the BA/BSc/MA/MSc programmes saying such programmes had been abolished at over a 100 government degree colleges and so, there was no justification for continuing such programs at the university level.

The adviser said he would arrange a meeting between the UoP VC and CM next week to discuss the financial issues facing the university.

The CM adviser said he would monitor progress on the resolution of demands and would visit the university after one month.

The VC promised to hold weekly meeting, the release said.

Students denied their demands were met.

They said their main demand was for the withdrawal of 10 percent annual fee increase but there’s no word of the administration on it.

“The administration knows that at the end of the month, the students’ vacation will begin after the end of the semester and so, it is trying to delay things. We want administration to resolve the issues relating to it without delay,” said protester Abid Yousafzai.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2017