PESHAWAR, Oct 26: Students belonging to Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) have criticized the NWFP government’s policy regarding admission of Fata students on reserved seats in medical colleges, because of which reserved seats remain vacant.

At a news conference here at the Peshawar Press Club on Friday, they said that according to the government’s new policy such tribal students were not eligible to apply on tribal quota, who had not passed both their matriculation and intermediate examinations from educational institutions of Fata. They said that this policy should be revoked forthwith as it had effected the tribal students badly, or else they would observe hunger strike.

All the participants of the press conference had been affected by the new policy. Enayatur Rehman from Bajaur Agency said that in none of the tribal agencies there was any woman college due to which after the formulation of the new policy none of the tribal girls could be admitted on the tribal quota to the medical colleges.

He further said that in some of the tribal areas there were no boys colleges like in Orakzai Agency and students had to go to settled area for education.

He asked: “when there are no girls or boys colleges in a specific tribal area then how could students from those areas qualify for this new criterion for admission?”

The speakers said that last year the government had formulated a policy according to which 50 per cent reserve seats were meant for tribal students from Fata and the other 50 per cent for such tribal students who had studied in settled areas.

They added that even then a student who had done his matriculation from educational institution in tribal area, he was entitle to apply on the tribal quota. Now it was mandatory that a student should have done his matriculation as well as intermediate from an educational institution of Fata, they added.

Speakers including Ameenullah, Ziauddin, Fazal Ahmad, Umerzada, Dilawar and others said that in Islamia College, Peshawar, there were reserved seats in intermediate classes for students from Fata.

They asked that when studying of tribal students in institutions outside tribal areas was not in accordance with the government’s policy then why were seats reserved for them in colleges of settled areas.

Those affected have asked the government either to revoke the policy or give admission on the vacant seats to such students who did their matriculation from tribal areas.