A hearing in the Supreme Court of Pakistan by a six-member constitutional bench has reignited the debate over the decades-long ban on student unions. The court has issued notices to the federation of Pakistan, challenging the legality of this ban. This marks a pivotal moment in a legal battle that could fundamentally alter the way students engage with political and social issues within their universities. Unfortunately, there has been a fundamental misunderstanding of the role student unions play in fostering democratic values and the overall welfare of students – even within the judiciary. For decades, student unions have been demonised, wrongly blamed for violence on campuses, and reduced to mere political tools. References to student unions as breeding grounds for violence or as extensions of political parties do little to capture their true purpose. In fact, the crisis of higher education in this country can be traced back to the ban on student unions in 1984. Students were left without the means to organise and demand redress for their grievances, leaving administrators in complete control. The space that had previously been occupied by unions was taken over by the student wings of political parties, many of them violently extremist.
Student unions are the birthplace of ideologies and activism and prepare future generations for the responsibilities of being active citizens. Unfortunately, rather than encourage them, we have looked at students as a threat and prevented them from organising. The petitioners challenging the student union ban argue that such restrictions violate their constitutional right under Article 17, which guarantees freedom of association. The petitioners also highlight a critical inconsistency: if young people are allowed to vote at the age of 18, how can they be denied the right to unionise within the very institutions where they are supposed to develop as citizens? To consider the positive role student unions could play on campus, just consider the state of universities today. When the Supreme Court reinstated the ban, it argued that student unions led to violence on campus but the spread of guns was hastened by the ban. Instead of empowered student unions, the only organised presence is that of student wings of political parties. They are often run by people who are not students themselves, regularly clash amongst themselves and are interested only in issues that concern their parent parties. Genuine student unions would play a more active role in debating campus issues, be it the fees charged or the performance of university administrators.
What is now abundantly clear is that the state’s reluctance to reinstate student unions has resulted in a missed opportunity to channel the energy and potential of the youth into positive political engagement. Pakistan’s youthful population, one of the largest in the world, is an untapped resource that can drive change, innovation, and progress. The state and educational institutions must recognise that allowing students to organiae, express themselves, and advocate for their rights is not a threat but a necessary part of their development as citizens and as future leaders.