BAJAUR: Students of Government Degree College, Barkholzo in Mamond tehsil on Saturday staged a demonstration against the lack of security and shortage of teachers.

The students, who blocked the Umary-Sewai Road for over an hour, said it was the only degree college in the entire Mamond tehsil with over 1,500 students enrolled.

They alleged that the institution had no security arrangements causing fear among students and teachers.

The protesting students, who chanted slogans against the relevant authorities, mentioned that not a single policeman was deployed at the college for security purposes.

Ali Rehman, Luqman Khan, Riaz Khan and other students’ leaders claimed that senior officials of the district administration and police had promised in November last year to deploy policemen there, but to no avail.

The students’ leaders urged the district administration and the police to ensure deployment of police personnel in their institution like the other colleges of the district without delay.

The protesting students also expressed concern over the recent transfer of various teachers from the college. They said that frequent transfer of teachers was not unacceptable to them as it wasted their precious time as the vacant posts were often not filled.

They said that the college was already facing a shortage of teachers as several posts had been lying vacant for the last several months.

They demanded of the relevant authorities to cancel the transfer orders of teachers, or they would stage more protests.

Later, the students ended the road blockage after a team of district administration officials led by additional assistant commissioner Faiz Mohammad met with them and gave them assurance to address their issues instantly.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023