SWAT/SWABI:The students in Swat and Swabi districts staged protest demonstrations against the government’s proposed plan to privatise public colleges and schools, describing the move as “anti-education” and a direct threat to the rights of underprivileged students.

The protests gained momentum across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when students of different colleges came out on the road against the government proposed plan and demanded withdrawal of the decision.

In Swat, students of Government Postgraduate Afzal Khan Lala College staged a demonstration at Matta Chowk in Swat, demanding immediate withdrawal of the decision. Holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans against privatisation, the protesters chanted slogans such as “education cannot be turned into a business.”

Addressing the gathering, the student leaders warned that privatisation would deprive poor students of access to higher education, and that the government was pursuing “policies that would restrict education to the privileged few.”

They cautioned that if the decision was not withdrawn, the protest movement would intensify and spiral beyond the government’s control.

During the demonstration, the main Matta–Mingora and Kalam Road remained blocked for over an hour, causing severe inconvenience to commuters.

In Swabi too, the students of Government Ddegree College Kotha staged protest against privatisation of educational institutions in the province.

The students blocked Topi-Kotha Road for all kinds of traffic while raising slogans against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and its privatisation policy.

The protesters said that the proposed privatisation would deprive students of the common families of higher education, which is their basic right.

Addressing the protesters, student leaders said that they had shunned their differences and pledged to continue joint struggle against the privatisation of schools and colleges.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2025