Making do: Producing excellent results year after year, a college that lacks facilities

Jinnah College for Woman in desperate need of a second hostel, new science block.

PESHAWAR:

Touted by some as the most prestigious college in Khyber-Paktunkhwa, Jinnah College for Women (JCW) students have bagged the top positions in Peshawar board’s exams for the last 12 years.

“We have managed to achieve top positions in the overall board results consistently due to the dedication of our teachers and the hard work of our students,” said JCW Principal Dr Neelofar Zeb Arbab, during an interview with The Express Tribune.

She explained that year after year, the college students have bagged the top three positions in pre-medical and pre-engineering, adding that last year, they also grabbed the first and third position in general science.

The top 36 positions in the overall result of BA/BSc were also bagged by the college students. The college is affiliated with the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Peshawar and the University of Peshawar (UoP).

Good results have not translated to excellent or even adequate facilities, however.

The college hostel accommodates 1,800 students instead of 276 that it was designed for. “There are five students in each room and more in the common room and the store room of the hostel,” the principal said.

And it is not like they can turn students away. There are private hostels outside the university premises, but for many girls it is not a viable option.

“I’ve directed the provost and warden to accommodate all students in the college hostel as, being young, they will face plethora of problems if they go outside,” Arbab said.

The former UoP Vice-Chancellor Dr Azmat Hayat Khan had allotted a 5-kanal plot for the construction of a new hostel for the college. The college got the land, but no funds to make the building.

The science block poses another problem. Designed to handle 15-20 students at a time, the management is forced to cram up to 40 students at a single time for science classes. Arbab said she had approached senior provincial government officials to find a solution to the issue.

“We have forwarded the issue to the education authorities but they are yet to do anything. However, such issues have never kept the students from shining in their examinations,” she said.

She added, “Our mission is to provide a foundation of quality education, foster intellectual growth, aesthetic appreciation and character development in student.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 9^th, 2012.