The Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology's decision to hold theoretical and practical exams on campus amid the coronavirus pandemic has sparked students' protest in Nawabshah.
On Friday thousands of protesting students locked the university's gate and prevented willing students and teachers from entering the campus. The varsity's point buses were stopped from entering the campus, forcing the other students to return. Naseem Sherani, Suhail Jamali, Mujahid Baloch, Ayaz Shaikh, Masood Baloch, Sajjad Solangi and other protesters who spoke to the media blamed the university's administration for always taking decisions detrimental to the interests of students. They said the varsity is forcing the students to appear for the exams conducted on the campus, adding that the act is tantamount to exposing them to the coronavirus. They said throughout the year the students attended only the online classes. Therefore, the protesters demanded that they will only accept online exams.
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They asked why QUEST is not conducting online exams when other universities in the country have been doing the same. They alleged that the varsity's female students are being pressured to appear in the examination centres to offset the impact of the students' protest. Some of the returning female students who spoke to the local media said they are willing to take the exam but the other students are preventing them while the QUEST's administration has failed to help them enter the university. The exams on campus started from January 25 and are to conclude by February 15. The students enrolled in civil, mechanical, electrical, computer systems, electronic, telecommunication, chemical, energy and environment, information technology, mathematics, computer science and English degree programs will have to appear in six papers. Each paper is scheduled with a gap of three to four days.
The practical exams are also scheduled on the same days after a 10 minutes break from the theory exam. There are four practical tests each for the civil and electronics students, three each for mechanical and telecommunication, two each for electrical, computer systems and chemical and one for energy and environment. Three practical tests for mathematics, two for computer science and one each for information technology and English are also scheduled.
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