Protest: Students reject renaming of Mirpur varsity

VC says management not consulted by govt before decision was taken.

MIRPUR:

Students of Colonel Syed Ali Ahmed Shah University of Science and Technology held a protest on Thursday against the recent decision to rename the varsity after a former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Students from the varsity, formerly known as Mirpur University of Science and Technology, blocked Allama Iqbal Road in front of the main campus and set tyres on fire.

They raised slogans against the government for an “unwarranted and unwelcome decision”, which they said was taken without consulting the varsity’s top management.

Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof. Naib Hussain Chaudhry said the government had not consulted the university’s senate before taking the decision, which was totally unjustified, while speaking to The Express Tribune.

“Neither I nor other members of the senate were taken on board when renaming the university,” he remarked.

Asked about his opinion, the VC said he was against changing the varsity’s name as it was formally approved by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). He urged the government to reconsider the decision, since it would inconvenience students who had already been issued mark sheets and degrees. The state-run university was established in 1980.

On March 10, the AJK government renamed the varsity to pay tribute to former AJK president, late Col. Syed Ali Ahmed Shah, an activist of Kashmir’s freedom struggle through an official notification.

The HEC is funding a new campus in Jari Kass, which will be built at a cost of Rs1.56 billion.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for the project earlier this month.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2012.