PEOPLE living in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) may have returned to normal life after a long violent period of terrorism that was ended by a successful military operation, but they continue to face a litany of multiple frustrating issues. All that the people in such areas want is their due basic rights, and nothing else. For instance, access to education.

As such, many students belonging to the erstwhile Fata recently held protest demonstrations at the Islamia University in Bahawalpur on being widely deprived of adequate educational opportunities in their own region. The issue reflected a broader growing dilemma that is faced by thousands of students who are suffering because of the absence of functional universities as well as higher learning institutions. It is indeed lamentable that in an era marked by unprecedented advancements, the said region continues to fight for the right to have a university so that its young, especially girls, may not have to travel far and wide to seek higher education.

Frustrated and disillusioned by the existing socioeconomic challenges and governmental policies, students from the former Fata region find themselves rather marginalised and disadvantaged in their pursuit of higher education.

Recognising the crucial need to address this existing educational gap, the Punjab chief minister took a commendable step in 2014. Special quota seats were allocated for ex-Fata students in various public-sector universities across Punjab, including the Islamia University in Bahawalpur.

However, the progress was short-lived, as in 2020, the Islamia University abruptly ended the provision of special quota seats. In response to the regressive decision, the students agitated and held strikes to give voice to their discontent. What began as a localised protest soon escalated into a sustained resistance, with students from the Islamia University even converging in Lahore for a while where they staged a sit-in outside the Governor House.

Their perseverance bore fruit when a meeting was convened on Oct 12, 2022, chaired by the then governor and attended by key stakeholders. Consequently, the university reinstated the reserved seats.

However, the recent action of the Islamia University administration has once again cast a shadow over the aspirations of the students from the former Fata region. Contrary to the approved government policy, the university has unilaterally reduced the number of reserved seats per department from four to two.

Furthermore, a disconcerting trend of gender-based division has emerged, wherein the reduced seats are allocated along gender lines, undermining the principles of inclusivity and meritocracy that underpin the education system. Additionally, the decision to shuffle these already diminished seats to other local sub-campuses further compounds the injustice faced by the students, who are deprived of access to the main campus facilities and resources.

Regardless of the latest round of decisions and protests, civil society, social activists and politicians need to lend their support to the cause of the affected students on a sustained basis till they get a university close to their homes. Once that happens, they will not have to travel so far away to acquire education. They are not seeking charity. They are seeking their right.

In essence, the voice of the marginalised must be amplified, and concerted efforts must be made to address the injustices that perpetuate educational disparities.

Shahid Hussain Mehsud
Bahawalpur

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2024