College students protest against ‘unfair behaviour’ of HEC

Multan: Large number of college aspirants, parents as well as the members of the civil society staged a protest on Monday against the unfair behaviour of Higher Education Commission, Pakistan about summer holidays.

The aspirants as well as the civil society activists get together at Chungi No 6, Multan. They were holding banners along with the placards adorned along with their demands and shouted the slogans against the government of the province for closing down schools and also universities in South Punjab and keeping the colleges open.

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While talking to the media sources, a student of pre-engineering, Irtaza said, “All the schools and varsities have been closed since May 25^th, 2017, however the colleges are still open. We have to come to our college while fasting.”

“If ‘no summer holidays’ is the strategy of the higher education department than it must involve all the schools and universities as well. Why just colleges are open,” he asked.

He furthermore said that all the universities and schools should also remain open together with the colleges.

Advocate Shahbaz Gurmani told the media sources that as per the meteorological department, the temperature of Multan had risen to 50 degrees centigrade and even higher in a lot of parts of South Punjab.

“Forcing the aspirants to come to college in Ramadan in hot weather is not right,” he said.

He furthermore said that the government of Punjab should review its strategy about the summer holidays in Ramadan to give relief to the aspirants.

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“Large number of the students of the nearby districts residing in hostels and along with Ramadan and unscheduled load-shedding it has become enough difficult for the students to manage their studies.”

The senior vice president of Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association Professor Malik Muhammad Ramzan said that the demands of aspirants were right.

He pointed out, “The issue of load-shedding is getting worse in Multan and the aspirants also have to sit in exams without electricity.”

He also added that: “The government should make a decision to facilitate all the aspirants of universities as well as colleges”.

At the same time, a protester, Qaisar Naqvi said, “The weather is very hot and even the doctors have suggested the people to stay indoors during peak hours.”

At the same time he also added that, “The government should have some mercy on the college students.”

The protesters demanded the Chief Minister of Punjab Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif should take notice of the situation and announce summer holidays in colleges.