KU law students with outstanding dues demand permission to sit in exams

Stage protest at Pharmacy Chowk; final semester exams postponed by one week to give time to students pay dues

The students of University of Karachi's School of Law on Tuesday staged a protest demanding permission to appear in semester examinations without paying outstanding fees. The protest disrupted the traffic in the campus.

A large number of students gathered at Pharmacy Chowk, blocking it from all sides for several hours. The demonstration, which began in the afternoon, continued till late into the evening, causing traffic congestion at the Maskan Gate and Kaneez Fatima Society Gate.

Students and all those entering the campus from Kaneez Fatima Society, along with their vehicles, were diverted through a rough track running between tall bushes near the Computer Science Department, leading towards Biotechnology department. Similarly, vehicles exiting from the Kaneez Fatima Gate were also forced to use the same unpaved route. Traffic from Maskan was rerouted through the Semester Cell before reaching the IBA area.

The protesting students of the School of Law also blocked the road outside the university on Monday night over the same issue. During Tuesday's protest, students demanded of the administration to allow them to appear in exams while deferring fee payment.

"We've requested the administration to let us take our exams. If someone hasn't paid the fee, the university can withhold the results. But this is our final semester - two papers have already been held and we couldn't sit for them. Our academic year will be wasted, and our Bar Council membership delayed," a student, Hammad Ali, said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Iraqi said that, following a proposal by the School of Law's in-charge Prof Tauheed, the university had agreed to give students a one-time concession. "The final semester exams have been postponed by one week to allow students to pay their dues," he added.

He, however, clarified that the protesting students had outstanding dues for multiple semesters, adding that the university was already facing a serious financial deficit. "The University of Karachi had earlier allowed such students to attend semester classes, but now no department will be permitted to let students sit in examinations without paying fees," he added.