PESHAWAR, Feb 23: The proposed model university ordinance came under heavy criticism at a one-day seminar here on Saturday.
Speakers at the seminar termed the proposed ordinance as a continuation of the government’s policies of accepting the IMF and the World Bank dictates, and expressed fear that the students would be deprived of their right of receiving education at the public sector institutions once the it was implemented.
The seminar was arranged by the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) at the Forest Institute, University of Peshawar.
The speakers included Dr Mohammad Izharul Haq, vice-president of Fapuasa; Dr Iftikhar Baloch, president of the Punjab University Teachers Association; Arbab Khan Afridi, president of the Peshawar University Teachers Association; Dr Shad Mohammad, president of the Agricultural University Teachers Association; Siddique Akbar, NWFP president of Fapuasa; Shabbir Ahmad Khan, MNA, and provincial senior minister Sirajul Haq.
The speakers dwelt at length on the affects of the proposed ordinance, and said it was harmful to the educational fabric of the country.
They were of the view that the education system of any given country should reflect cultural, religious, ideological and moral values attached to that particular nation, but the proposed ordinance was being implemented to appease the donor agencies and snatch away the rights of getting education from the poor class of society.
They told the audience that it was surprising that on the one hand the government was making hollow claims regarding bringing improvement in the education system of the country and, on the other, it had completely ignored the stakeholders — teachers and students — at the time of issuance of the ordinance.
Criticizing the rulers for making incorrect decision about the education system, they said the government should bring about practical suggestions and discuss them with the teachers and the students in order to make the system modern and updated. The one-sided decisions taken by the government, they said, would not work and backfire, which would cause more harm to the education scenario of the country.
Through a unanimously adopted resolution, the teachers urged the government to rescind the decision about the implementation of the ordinance in the larger interest of the teachers and the student communities and bring reforms in consultation with them.
On the occasion senior minister Sirajul Haq extended his full cooperation to the teaching community, and said the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal government wanted to provide free education to the people.