SHC seeks progress report on procedure for student union elections

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed a provincial law officer to submit a progress report with regard to regulation of the procedure for the conduct of student union elections.

The direction came on a petition seeking student union elections at the varsities under the Sindh Students Union Act.

The high court was informed by a counsel for the University of Karachi (KU) that the varsity had already commenced the process to formulate and regulate a procedure for the conduct of student union elections. The counsel submitted that the KU had also sent the proposed constitution for its students council to the universities and boards secretary.

The provincial law officer sought time to apprise the court about the progress. A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry directed the law officer to submit a progress report within five weeks.

The petitioners, Taimoor Ahmed and others, had submitted in the petition that the Senate of Pakistan had unanimously passed a resolution for lifting the ban on student unions stating that the prohibition on student unions was a violation of the fundamental right enshrined in the Article 17 of the Constitution.

Their counsel Usman Farooq submitted that the Sindh government had also enacted the Sindh Students Union Act 2019 that aimed to restore and restructure student unions across the province thereby fostering the growth of the democratic system in line with the Article 17 of the Constitution.

He submitted that the Act mandated the educational institutions to formulate regulations and procedures for the conduct of their student union elections within two month after the promulgation of the law.

The SHC was informed that the chapter II, section 8(1) of the University of Karachi Act 1972 stated that there shall be a union of students of the university which shall be represented in the varsity’s senate by its office bearers.

The counsel submitted that lack of student union elections at the university deprived the students of their fundamental rights to participate in the democratic process of their educational institution.

He submitted that the student unions were recognised bodies that worked within a structured framework, addressing the students’ issues on campus.

He said the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad had made significant progress as an example for other universities regarding revival of student unions as the union was elected there through a well-structured process overseen by a committee ensuring adherence to ethical standards and transparency.