HYDERABAD: Students staged a day-long protest against raise in annual fee at Sindh University on Thursday in the presence of Adviser to Chief Minister on Boards and Universities Nisar Ahmed Khuhro.

The protesters rejected Khuhro’s offer of reducing the students’ fee by 50 per cent and demanded the Sindh government reverse the raise completely.

The protesters forcibly removed barricades put up by police and civil administration in the university ahead of Khuhro’s arrival at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Convention Centre and the administration deployed a heavy contingent to pre-empt violence.

The Sindh government should reverse the raise in students’ annual fee in the university, they said.

Police had sealed all main routes of the campus but students’ rally managed to reach zero point where police, led by director of students’ affairs, tried to stop them from marching towards the moot venue but failed. Police once again tried to prevent them from heading towards the centre at Allama I.I. Kazi Chowk but they beat them to the centre’s main gate.

They staged a sit-in outside the gate as conference’s proceedings continued for around two hours. As students raised slogans against increase in fees the CM’s adviser along with VC Dr Siddique Kalhoro talked to protesters.

The SU officials tried to help the adviser leave the campus through another passage but students gathered there to thwart the attempt. Students then headed for the Indus Highway to block it but then again returned to main gate of the convention centre near Institute of Sindhology.

Khuhro told students that the SU was collecting “reasonable and affordable” fees from students although the varsity faced resource constraints. The VC had raised this issue in SU’s syndicate which had approved it. SU would cut increase in fee by 50pc in view of students’ demand and students of self-finance scheme would also take benefit.

Students, however, pressed for full reversal of increase in fee while raising slogans. Later, police and security guards closed main entrance to the centre.

Students’ leaders Jaswant Rathore, Aajiz Ali Jatoi and others said that 30pc to 40pc fee had been raised by administration on the pretext of resource constraints and decision of raise in fee was being thrust over them.

They said that instead of waiving off fee in time of pandemic it had been increased, which was a great injustice.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2021