KHYBER: The University of Peshawar (UoP) has suspended three BS subjects in the boys’ degree college in Landi Kotal due to a lack of interest by students, while the institution is also in dire need of modern teaching techniques and facilities, sources said.

They told Dawn that UoP, with which the college is affiliated, had abruptly closed down departments of zoology, political science and Urdu due to ‘continuous’ lack of interest by students.

The UoP has instead started Associate Degree (AD) programmes in different subjects but that too could not attract sufficient number of students despite the college administration’s persistent efforts to convince both students and their parents for admission in these courses.

The sources among the teaching staff said while most students were interested in pursuing a career in computer science, there was no IT (information technology) laboratory in the college.

Most students interested in computer science

Students of different subjects told Dawn that there was no arrangement for BS or AD courses for information technology, medical sciences, business education, environmental sciences and English subjects.

They also said college sustained excessive electric loadshedding, and the low-voltage solar system also could not take the load of multimedia classes and was in need of immediate upgradation.

The students also complained about shortage of drinking water and transport facility.

They said one of the hostels had been converted into a college for girls, most rooms in the other hostel were occupied by the teaching staff and police with only eight or nine students from Loe Shalman and Zakhakhel areas accommodated in two small rooms, which were originally meant for one student.

They said that a number of students had either migrated to colleges in Peshawar or had abandoned their studies halfway due to acute shortage of accommodation in the hostels.

They demanded arranging boarding facility for students coming from distant places.

Meanwhile, a welfare organisation distributed winter package among poor students of various schools in Upper Bara on Sunday.

Volunteers of Khidmat-i-Khalq Welfare Society said as many as 120 poor students of six schools were given winter package in Spin Drand area. They said the package included warm clothes and shoes.

PRESS CLUB POLLS: Annual elections to the Jamrud, Bara and Landi Kotal press clubs were completed on Sunday with Zahir Shah Afridi, Salim Khan and Aman Ali elected as presidents, respectively.

Over 50 journalists in the three press clubs exercised their right to vote with a close contest witnessed between two presidential candidates in Bara Press Club, where both the candidates secured equal votes.

The election committee then decided the contest on toss, electing Salim Khan for the first six months and Kamran Khan for the remaining six months of 2026.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2025