Students demand taking back tuition fee hike,restoring student unions

Scores of members of various student and youth bodies on Saturday held a rally under the banner of Tulba Ittehad Karachi (Tik), demanding reversion of the recently increased tuition fees, better facilities in educational institutions and restoration of student unions.

Tik, the alliance of student and youth bodies formed last month, organised the protest outside the Karachi Press Club. A number of students and activists attended the rally, which was also joined by academics and workers from progressive political parties.

The protesters were holding placards and banners inscribed with their demands, and shouting slogans against the substantial increase in tuition fees and other problems being faced by the students.

The alliance’s component student bodies included the Democratic Youth Front, the Progressive Youth Alliance, the Democratic Students Federation, the Baloch Educational Council Karachi, the Baloch Students Council Lyari, the Baloch Students Organisation Pajjar, the Baloch Students Organisation and the Sindhi Shagird Sath-University of Karachi.

The demands included the allocation of six per cent of the budget for education, reversion of increase in fees and cut in scholarships, doubling the number of hostels at government universities and allocating at least 10 per cent admission quota for poor students at private universities.

The protesters also demanded an improved and unbiased syllabus, and asked the government to decrease the fee of MPhil and PhD classes at public universities. Prominent among the speakers were Kulsoom Baloch, Abdullah Mir, Naghma Shaikh, Anum Khan, Aqeel Baloch and Shabbir Azad.

They claimed that the government had been depriving the poor students of higher education by increasing the fees of educational institutions. They said that in the absence of unions, students had been facing several challenges, such as shortage of hostels, increase in fees and shortage of transport.

Under the banner of Tik, students and youth would primarily raise their voices against the high cost of education, the increasing fees, unemployment and anti-student policies of the government, they added.

One of the speakers said that their demands also included construction of new hostels and provision of accommodation to needy students. He also demanded a special financial package for displaced students and an end to discrimination.