Demonstration: Students block GT Road for three hours

The police baton charged and dispersed the students.

PESHAWAR: Students infuriated by the absence of NationalTesting Service (NTS) staff at a test centre blocked GT Road Peshawar in protest for three hours on Sunday. Irshad, a test candidate, saw the call for scholarship applicants by Kadam, a non-governmental organisation, in a newspaper. The advertisement invited students from Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to take an evaluation test, for the Kadam Bright Students Scholarship Programme, conducted by the NTS. Irshad said he deposited Rs650 in fees and received his roll number from the testing service. However, when he arrived at the designated centre – Government High School No. 1 – he found hundreds of other candidates waiting for the testing staff. Students had not been informed about any delay in the schedule, Irshad pointed out. As a result, the irate students staged a protest on GT Road. The police baton charged and dispersed them.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2013.