A few days ago, a gold medalist PhD student was expelled from a Faisalabad university for criticising a musical event
SOUTH WAZIRISTAN AGENCY: According to Article 19 of the Constitution, every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression. However, this right is only accorded to us in theory and not in practice. A few days ago, a gold medalist PhD student was expelled from a Faisalabad university for criticising a musical event organised by the varsity’s management. His apology was rejected by the university administration.
It is strange that our educational institutions do not recognise certain rights that the Constitution gives us. Furthermore, it seems they cannot tolerate a single word of criticism.
Around a year ago, I received admission into the University of Punjab’s MPhil programme in its Department of Philosophy. I had no accommodation in Lahore so I applied for a room in the university hostel and was denied this, apparently because I belonged to Waziristan. When I took the issue to the media, I was warned by the department administration that action would be taken against me. Later on, I was barred from appearing in semester exams. Even at the graduate level, our educational institutions treat students with disrespect and unprofessional manner. We live in an era of science and technology but our institutions of higher education still follow medieval methods of educational practice — preferring favouritism to merit. I request the authorities concerned, especially the Higher Education Commission, to look into such matters. If this practice is not stopped, we will end up producing graduates who lack merit and credibility.
Rafiuddin Mehsud
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2016.
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