All out: NED suspends six students after clash several weeks ago
One-year reprimand and fines for 21 others after fight at cricket match.
KARACHI:
Weeks after a violent clash that injured several students and damaged property at the Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw (NED) University of Engineering and Technology, six students were suspended for a year and another 21 were fined.
Late in July, students belonging to the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) and the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation (APMSO) got involved in a scuffle during an inter-departmental cricket tournament organised by the IJT on campus. What should have ended with both sides showing sportsmanship turned violent with students attacking one another with stones, sticks and iron rods. Luckily, the injuries were not severe. This Monday, the university’s administration decided to ensure such violence would not be witnessed on campus again. In a move to do just that, the students responsible for the violence, three each from the IJT and APMSO, were made an example of with suspension orders. All of them have appealed against the decision, saying the punishment was “too harsh” and it would put them at a great academic disadvantage.
However, despite the punishment, the bickering did not seem to have ended. “We are appealing to the administration in the hope to encourage it to reconsider its decision,” said a member of the IJT on condition of anonymity. “The decision itself is unbalanced as the other party was more at fault but we were sentenced to an equal reprimand.”
For their part, a senior member of the APMSO who also did not want to be named said, “We respect the decision of the university, however, we hope that the appeal will be accepted.” Just like the IJT members, the APMSO ones were also deeply concerned about the loss of time they would suffer if their appeals were rejected. “We will lose an entire semester! That is too much, we will not be able to cope,” said a student associated with APMSO. Speaking to The Express Tribune, registrar for NED, Javed Aziz Khan, said the vice chancellor would take a final decision. He declined to make any further comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2011.
Weeks after a violent clash that injured several students and damaged property at the Nadirshaw Edulji Dinshaw (NED) University of Engineering and Technology, six students were suspended for a year and another 21 were fined.
Late in July, students belonging to the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) and the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation (APMSO) got involved in a scuffle during an inter-departmental cricket tournament organised by the IJT on campus. What should have ended with both sides showing sportsmanship turned violent with students attacking one another with stones, sticks and iron rods. Luckily, the injuries were not severe. This Monday, the university’s administration decided to ensure such violence would not be witnessed on campus again. In a move to do just that, the students responsible for the violence, three each from the IJT and APMSO, were made an example of with suspension orders. All of them have appealed against the decision, saying the punishment was “too harsh” and it would put them at a great academic disadvantage.
However, despite the punishment, the bickering did not seem to have ended. “We are appealing to the administration in the hope to encourage it to reconsider its decision,” said a member of the IJT on condition of anonymity. “The decision itself is unbalanced as the other party was more at fault but we were sentenced to an equal reprimand.”
For their part, a senior member of the APMSO who also did not want to be named said, “We respect the decision of the university, however, we hope that the appeal will be accepted.” Just like the IJT members, the APMSO ones were also deeply concerned about the loss of time they would suffer if their appeals were rejected. “We will lose an entire semester! That is too much, we will not be able to cope,” said a student associated with APMSO. Speaking to The Express Tribune, registrar for NED, Javed Aziz Khan, said the vice chancellor would take a final decision. He declined to make any further comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2011.