Students protest privatisation of educational institutions

TAKHTBHAI: The students of Government Degree College, Takhthbhai, on Monday staged a protest and blocked the Malakand-Mardan road for vehicular traffic against the proposed privatisation of educational institutions.

The protesters chanted slogans against the government’s decision and later marched to Malakand-Mardan road, which they blocked to all types of traffic. Speaking on the occasion, the students said that privatising educational institutions would close the doors of education to poor students and render many government employees jobless.

They demanded that the government should immediately withdraw the privatisation plan and take steps to keep education accessible for the people.The protest, which lasted for two hours, caused major traffic jams, with long queues of vehicles on both sides of the road.

Later, the personnel of police, Takhtbhai Press Club members, political leaders, and representatives of the local administration held talks with the protesters.The road was reopened for traffic after they assured protesting students that their demands would be conveyed to higher authorities.

The protesters warned that if their demands were not met, they would expand their protest movement.Later, during a press conference at the Takhtbhai Press Club , former Pakhtun Students Federation leader and Village Council Jehangirabad chairman Malik Irshad, along with Takhthbhai Degree College president Hammad Khan and others, rejected the government’s privatisation proposal.