Setting precedent: Punjab University opens to commemorate Iqbal Day

Varsity resolves to remain open on all national days.

LAHORE:

The Punjab University remained open on Friday to celebrate Iqbal Day.

Awareness sessions were organised on the importance of the day.

An official statement released by PU on Friday said the varsity had decided to commemorate Iqbal Day on campus with faculty and students taking part in various activities.

Public relations officer Muhammad Isar Rana told The Express Tribune that this was the first time the university had decided to keep open on a holiday. He said over 70 departments had observed the day by holding seminars and awareness sessions. “The response by students and faculty was wonderful,” he said. “We were able to tell students why we observe the day.”

The PU administration had issued a circular on November 1 announcing that the university would now remain open on all national days and directed the teaching staff to highlight the significance of these days through activities on campus.

It said the varsity would close on some alternative day to compensate for the holiday.

It was announced later that it would remain closed on November 16 instead of November 9.

Vice Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran said the decision had been taken during a meeting on August 14.

On Friday, various activities including quiz competitions, debates, seminars and poetry recitals were organised at the various departments.

Earlier in the day, VC Kamran led a delegation of PU faculty and staff to Iqbal’s mausoleum where they offered fateha and laid a wreath to pay their respects. Later, speaking at the campus, Kamran said marking days of national significance, like the Iqbal Day, by announcing holidays amounted to abandoning the values and principles preached by people like Allama Iqbal.

He urged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take steps to ensure that at least educational institutions remained open on national days, especially Iqbal Day, to allow students to learn more about the historical significance of such personalities.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2012.