HYDERABAD: Like in other parts of the country, students held protests in Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana and several other areas on Friday for the restoration of student unions and provision of essential facilities at educational institutions.

The Students’ Action Committee organised a protest demonstration outside the Hyderabad Press Club. A large number of students first assembled on the Sindh University old campus and then held a march up to the club. They were carrying flags of the National Students Federation.

Led by Jai Kumar, Manish Dharani, Aamir Chandio, comrade Lata and others, the students raised slogans against unavailability of essential facilities at educational institutions.

Speaking to them, the leaders said that student unions had been facing a ban since General Zia’s regime. They termed the restrictions “anti-students and anti-education”.

They said students were still struggling for withdrawal of the ban, but it was not lifted even in the current democratic regime. Democratic rulers had failed in doing away with the action of the dictatorial Zia regime with the result that different mafias had established their monopoly over education institutions. They said that instead of adopting measures for improving quality of education, the government wanted to privatise the education sector by treating it as an industry.

They said that with the privatisation of the education sector, students of poor families would be deprived of their fundamental right to education. Education institutions did not have clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, transport and furniture while increase in fees structure had badly affected students’ education. They said institutions also faced a shortage of hostels.

They regretted that incidents of harassment and enforced disappearances of students were increasing day by day, but effective measures had not been taken so far.

They demanded of the government to lift the ban on student unions, failing which scope of the protest would be widened.

LARKANA: A large number of students and political activists affiliated with student wings of different parties, under the flag of the Progressive Students Feder­ation, took out a rally from Bakhtawar Park here on Friday to demand restoration of students unions.

After marching on main roads of the city and raising slogans in favour of their demands, the students converged on the main gate of Jinnah Park.

Addressing the protesters, a leader of the Progressive Students’ Federation, Khan Ghaffar Khan, said education had been turned into a lucrative business to mint money instead of focusing on raising standard of education and serving people.

He alleged that during the Covid-19 situation, educational institutions had revised up their fees which were not affordable for the students of the working and lower middle classes. It would have been better to decrease the fees during the coronavirus days to facilitate education to poor students, he said.

No concrete efforts on government level were visible to address ever multiplying issues of students linked with education, hostel facilities and provision of congenial atmosphere at the campuses, he said. The ban on student unions had increased the intensity of problems, he added. Rejecting the proposed uniform education curriculum, he said the step would damage the growing and creative minds.

A host of problems ranging from costly education to hostel accommodations, increasing fees, privatisation, paucity of basic facilities and other day-to-day issues needed to be addressed immediately, he said.

Aliya Bakhshal of woman wing of the Awami Workers Party pointed towards the incidents of girls’ harassment on campuses and quoted the examples of Naila Rind and Nimarta. She criticised the government’s inattention.

Asar Imam, Saqi Solangi and other speakers also talked about the students issues and demanded withdrawal of the ban on student unions.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2020