Unionise but with responsibility

As a body free from faculty and administration influence, a student union can effectively lobby for student interests


Editorial December 02, 2019

University students in Pakistan do not have it easy. The absence of any representative body means they are left to fend off for themselves against the excesses of university administrations. From rising fees to shoddy facilities, those attending public and private institutes are at the mercy of whoever runs them. And that is before one mentions the string of harassment cases reported from some universities.

The fear of rubbing university high-ups the wrong way intimidates many students into silence. Afraid they will be told to put up or pack up, they seldom find any recourse to their grievances. Across the world, this is exactly where student unions step in. As a body free from faculty and administration influence, a student union can effectively lobby for student interests. The most effective role these unions play is in ensuring student safety. The bodies can force university authorities to introduce policies that make campuses safer and inclusive for students from all spheres. In coordination with student groups from other institutes, they can even influence government education policies.

The recent student marches held in major cities of the country have a genuine reason to demand the government revisit its policies on student unions. From harassment of students at Balochistan University to the shocking conditions in Sindh University hostels, many abhorrent developments in Pakistani higher education institutes only came to pass in such bodies’ absence. There is, however, a dark side to student unions in Pakistan’s history. Many among us remember how highly politicised they became and how student bodies running in parallel eventually ended up in violent rivalries. It was not in vacuum that these unions were banned. Even in many Western institutes, there have been instances where student unions, enamoured by lofty political ideals, have forgotten the role they are fundamentally supposed to play.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2019.

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