MINGORA, Aug 9: Student leaders belonging to various organizations have expressed concern over the lack of facilities in the educational institutions in the Swat district and decided to launch a protest movement if their demands were not met.

Talking to the newsmen here on Friday, Rasheed Ahmad, Nazim of the Islami Jamiat Talaba Jehanzeb College unit, Ali Mohammed Yousufzai, President of People’s Students Federation (PSF Sherpao group), Hayat Khan, President Pakhtoon Students Federation, Salim Iqbal, member of the PSF, and Naurooz of the IJT criticized the provincial government’s decision of shifting the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) office from Saidu Sharif to Chakdara Dir.

They said it was an unwise step and warned they would launch a protest movement if the decision was not withdrawn.

The student leaders said populationwise Swat was the biggest district of the Malakand division and the number of the educational institutions was also not less than that of the rest of districts.

They criticized the elected representatives of Swat for their failure to raise voice for the rights of the Swat people. They said due to limited number of seats both in the girls and boys’ colleges hundreds of students failed to get admissions in the first year.

They demanded of the government either to open new colleges or increase the number of seats in the existing institutions. They said new colleges for both boys and girls should be opened in all the tehsils. It was proposed that the girls college should be upgraded to the postgraduate level and facilities should be provided in the rest of the schools and colleges of the Swat district.

The student leaders demanded of the government to issue order for the repair of the Jehanzeb College ground.