College students lose long-fought hostel

Islamabad:With the Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design (PIFD), Lahore opening a campus in an abandoned hostel of the Islamabad Model Postgraduate College (IMPC), H-8, the college students have formally lost the building they had long fought to reclaim.

Handed over to PIFD seven months ago, the building has since been renovated and is now operational as its Islamabad campus. The IMPC students, who had hoped for the building's restoration for their own accommodation, find themselves without the much-needed facility, questioning the education ministry's priorities.

A senior college teacher criticised the move, saying instead of allocating funds to restore the hostel for students, the education authorities unfairly chose to hand it over to an external institute.

He said the building remained abandoned for years due to a lack of financial support from the ministry and Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), which regulated Islamabad's public schools and colleges, forcing students to seek expensive and less secure private accommodations in the city.

Originally closed in 2008 due to severe neglect and lack of maintenance, the IMPC hostel saw no restoration efforts by authorities despite repeated requests from principals and students, according to him.

An FDE official pointed out that it was not an isolated incident. In 2012, the hostel building of Islamabad Model College for Boys H-9 was handed over to the government-backed Pakistan Sweet Homes orphanage, depriving college students of an affordable housing option.

Students, who came to the federal capital from other regions for education, have voiced frustration over the education ministry’s disregard for their accommodation needs. Ismail Ali, a BS student from the northern area of Skardu, lamented that his financially struggling family couldn't support his education in Islamabad.

“Unavailability of a college hostel has forced me into living in an expensive private hostel and work part-time to cover my expenses,” he said. Similarly, Sangeen Khan, another student from the course, said he had no choice but to stay in a private hostel, which put an extra financial burden on his family.

"The daily commuting costs between my hostel and college put extra pressure on my already limited resources," he complained. A professor resented the opening of a fashion institute in the college's hostel building, insisting the closure of hostels in ICT colleges appears to be a deliberate move against students from remote areas such as Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

"Instead of supporting such students, authorities have forced them into private hostels, which are often costly and lack necessary facilities. This [fashion institute] decision benefits private hostel operators while neglecting the needs of college students," he said.

The professor also said that the lack of hostels had made it increasingly difficult for students from far-flung areas to pursue education in Islamabad. “Despite multiple appeals over the years, the college regulator has failed to prioritise student accommodation, leaving them vulnerable to financial and security challenges. This decision underscores a broader issue of hostel closures in federal colleges, a pattern that many see as detrimental to accessible higher education in the capital,” he said.

Officials of the education ministry defended the move, saying a previously unused building was transformed into a fashion school in just five months. They said the PIFD’s Islamabad campus offered both undergraduate and graduate programmes in various fields, including fabric, dress designing, leather, furniture, shoes, ceramic and glass, and gem and jewellery.

The officials said the PIFD would develop self-sustaining graduates and raise awareness of the fashion industry among ninth and 10th graders from public schools. They claimed that the initiative would help place Pakistan on the global fashion world map.