QUETTA: Police on Monday arrested over two dozen students and employees of the Balochistan University of Medical and Health Science (BUMHS) during a protest outside the Balochistan Assembly.

Students and employees of the BUMHS have been protesting since the status of the Bolan Medical College was changed from a college to a university under the Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences Act No VII, 2017.

They were demanding dismissal of the varsity’s vice chancellor and restoration of the status of the Bolan Medical University (separate from the medical college) and a reduction in the fee structure.

Students claim that merit quota for them at the university was reduced after the new law was passed and that the management had also decreased scholarships for them.

The arrested people claimed that they were peacefully protesting when the police arrested them. “Instead of providing security to us, the police arrested several people,” a protester said.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2020