Girls not allowed admission: Villagers protest against Khanpur college admin

Demonstrators demand construction of girls college in old boys hostel building

HARIPUR: The parents and students from different areas of Khanpur protested outside Government Degree College for Boys Khanpur on Monday against the decision of not allowing girls to enroll in the institute.

Hundreds of female students and their parents from various areas of Khanpur, led by PTI leader Nusrat Parveen, gathered outside the college, chanting slogans against the secretary for education and director and principal of the college. They said the college had banned new admissions for girls despite the fact there were female students studying there for the last three years.

Disparity

Speaking to participants, Parveen condemned the decision of not granting admissions to girls, adding the college administration was reluctant to open the doors of higher education to daughters of poor villagers who had no other options.

“When the daughters of bureaucrats and politicians can study in a coeducational environment, why are daughters of poor villagers being deprived of the facility?” she questioned.



She said the government had failed to open a girls college in Khanpur.

Parveen also said the elected MNA and MPA from the area have been approached many times for opening a girls college in the vacant building of the boys hostel. However, the demand fell on deaf ears. She added girls in the vicinity were being deprived of their constitutional right.

She maintained since the hostel building of Government Degree College for Boys Khanpur was declared suitable for opening a girls college in the area, the K-P government must address the issue without further delay. Parveen added the people of Khanpur were not in a financial position to send their daughters to Taxila, Wah Cantonment, Rawalpindi or Haripur – areas in which girls had opportunities for higher education.

Later, the protesters negotiated with college principal, Professor Muhammad Nawaz, who assured the matter would be taken up with higher authorities and addressed soon.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2016.