Nurseries of leadership

The resolution passed unanimously in the Senate to revive student unions appears to be a welcome step. As the senators pointed out during the detailed debate on the issue, student unions were banned under General Ziaul Haq – chiefly as a means to quash dissent. Because of the four decades of absence of these bodies in any meaningful form we have suffered in many ways. Student unions often provide the first step up on the way to leadership positions in most countries. A number of our key politicians have in the past served as student leaders. They learnt their trade on these once lively platforms. Now that the platforms have been taken away we see fewer leaders emerging – and hence our current crisis of political leadership.

It is also true that the current student unions – in the form that they are in – have developed many negative traits. This is in part at least due to the restrictions placed on them and the free licence given to specific groups to move ahead in order to meet political needs. The IJT is one such example. It has turned into a powerful, sometimes violent, group controlling many campuses in the absence of legitimate bodies that can challenge its ideology and hold over colleges and universities. We need to go back to the times when student unions engaged in active debates and discussions on key national issues often acting to highlight these in the eyes of the public. Our history has also seen student movements remove dictatorships. Sadly even the party that led this movement, the PPP, has not made efforts to revive unions during its times in power. It is true we do not need students who act as thugs or engage in criminal activities. But we do need an environment on our campuses in which tolerance and discussion – and dissent – are allowed and encouraged. Student unions can play a role in making this possible. It is time that we enacted the necessary laws and took the steps required to bring them back to life as is the case in countries around the world where students play a critical role in national life.