Thousands of civil society members led by students and including parents, teachers, lawyers and social activists, took to the streets on Friday in support of the demands of students across the country.

They called for an end to the ban on student unions, demanded a reduction in education fees, and called for an overall improvement in educational facilities and security of students on campus.

Rallies were taken out in all major cities of the country, including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Hyderabad, Quetta and Peshawar.

Among the participants were a transgender student of medicine, calling for an end to "irrelevant favours" demanded by professors, a woman lamenting an end to student unions "which form a crucial part of political struggle" and the absence of which have led to "a regressive society", and an elderly man who blamed "lingual bias" for the societal decline witnessed today.

Examine: If student unions are bad for education, why are our controlled campuses ranked among the worst in the world?

No untoward incident was reported anywhere in the country, with some cities lent a helping hand by police officers who escorted the rallies. Students were lauded for the "disciplined manner" in which they carried out their demonstrations.