Resolving clashes: Support extended to Afghan students who were denied degrees

UoP spokesperson says certificates will be issued if students bring letters from institutes they were graduating from

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government extended support to those Afghan students who graduated from affiliated institutes of University of Peshawar but were denied degrees by the varsity administration owing to the failure to produce Proof of Registration (PoR) cards and passport copies.

Adviser to Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani said Afghan students who have completed education at local colleges and universities deserve degrees and certificates.

“I will support Afghan students,” he said while talking to The Express Tribune. He added he was unaware of the fact that they were being denied degrees for lacking documents that validated their stay in Pakistan.

He said all the students were in the country, had studied there and should be given degrees. “How can they be denied degrees when they were given admissions at those colleges and universities in the first place?” he asked.

Ghani said he will discuss the matter with the administration of universities and colleges concerned.

The new picture

UoP Spokesperson Akhtar Amin told The Express Tribune the administration will provide Afghan students degrees if they bring a letter from the institutes from which they graduated to get them verified.

Amin said the varsity administration had demanded PoR cards and copies of passports from Afghan students to maintain transparency so no one could receive degrees based on fake documents. “We even ask Pakistani students to attach any proof of identity like CNICs or domicile certificates with the form to obtain their degrees for verification,” he said.

UoP Admissions Director Dr Hizbullah had told The Express Tribune on Thursday that it was mandatory for all foreign students, including Afghans, to attach POR cards or copies of passports to the form they were submitting for issuance of degree from varsity administration.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, an education expert, Dr Khadim Hussain, said the provision of health and education services were fundamental rights of every individual, including Afghan refugees, and they must be provided by
the state.

He also said affiliated institutes of UoP must be held responsible for bypassing rules and regulations and granting admissions to students without asking for PoR cards or passport copies.

Hussain expressed his satisfaction at the stance of UoP – providing students degrees upon bringing verification letters from their institutes concerned.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2016.