Islamabad hostel students protest eviction

IHC asks HEC chairperson to redress grievances

ISLAMABAD:

A large number of university students on Tuesday protested outside the Islamabad demanding of their universities and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to resolve their accommodation problem.

Tens of thousands of students were evicted from privately-run hospitals after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) sealed many premises over ‘non-conforming use’. It meant that they were operating as a commercial enterprise without authorisation.

According to a public interest petition filed on behalf of the students in the Islamabad High Court, this policy of the CDA had left around 30,000 students on verge of eviction.

The petition pointed out that under section 4(xxiii) of the Federal Universities Act and other laws, the universities are bound to create sufficient student accomodation on campus and also to “approve or license” hostels and lodgings existing in the city.

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Unfortunately, it noted, only five out of the 35 universities which have cropped up in Islamabad over the last two decades have taken any such steps. “As a result, students are compelled to reside in privately-managed student hostels located in the CDA sectors,” it added.

It said CDA issued non-conforming notices to over 70 hostels in November.

Many students had to spend the night on the street after at least two hostels were shut down late in the evening without proper warning, according to the hostel owner.

The petition, meanwhile, pointed out that HEC has a statutory mandate to protect the interests of students including their accomodation matters, “but has so far failed to intervene in this crisis”.

At the premilimary hearing, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb issued directions for the HEC chairman to give a hearing to the students and redress their grievances.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2023.