Protest camp demands lifting of ban on student unions

LAHORE : The protest of Progressive Students Collective (PSC) has entered 11th day. PSC from different colleges and universities of the country has set up a protest camp against a ban on student unions at Charing Cross and demanded lifting of the ban on students’ unions.

The PSC has issued a charter of demands, calling for an end to a condition requiring students at the time of admission that they will not take part in any political activity, and terming it in violation of Article 17 of the Constitution. The students pay ‘health fee’ every semester but do not receive any help if they fall ill. The students say dispensaries in colleges and universities have Panadol and ORS to offer, beyond that, nothing. They demand from the government to ensure free, standard treatment of students if they fall ill. Transport has become increasingly expensive. Students demand 50pc rebate on transport. There are students who are unable to visit their homes, sometimes for 10 months, they shared with The News. The PSC demands inclusion of students’ representative in the harassment committee in educational institutions, not students that suits them.

If the authorities suspect a student to be politically active, a disciplinary committee becomes active. They hound such students in different ways. This reminds of what happened to students when they protested last year for online exams. Their demand was to hold online exams when they were taught online throughout the year. These were students from different universities. Apart from being beaten, five boys were picked up from that protest and taken to CIA Model Town station and released after 30 hours.

A PSC founding member who was president of the Debating Society of GCU under whom GCU won a record number of 315 debates, got lectureship in GCU but did not get admission in MPhil there while she got admission in NYU. She was not paid salary for eight months, her friends told The News.

Students from Lahore, Kashmir, Balochistan and KPK are studying here in Lahore. Students from peripheries are more politically aware. PSC demands recovery of Zabiullah and Fasihullah picked from university four months back. They demand from the government to produce all the missing students and teachers.

They demand establishment of all promised universities, particularly Baba Fareed University in Pakpattan. Another demand is to reverse recent increase in fee. That all genders, including transgenders be treated with dignity and a third category for them be created for entrance in the university. They called upon the government to take back budget cut on HEC and increase the budget for education to 5pc of GDP.

NGOs such as SAP Pakistan, HRCP and WISE visit their camp and support the students in their demand for their just right to form a union which the constitution allows them.