Bring them back: Campaign to restore student unions
Around 10,000 students from various educational institutes from Lahore were expected to sign the signature campaign.
LAHORE:
The National Students Federation (NSF) announced it was launching a signature campaign for the restoration of student unions. Punjab NSF President Irfan Chaudhry said they had started the campaign and around 10,000 students from various educational institutes from Lahore were expected to sign it. “We will go and ask students whether they want unions restored. If they agree with us, we will ask them to add their signatures and email addresses,” he said. They will later extend the campaign to other cities and request the Supreme Court to lift the ban on student unions, he added. Chaudhry said the ban was illegal and extrajudicial. “The Constitution allows citizens to form associations to protect their rights. Student unions were banned on February 11, 1984, by Ziaul Haq who took the step to divide the country on ethnic and religious lines,” he said. He said student unions did not promote campus violence as was sometimes alleged. “The ban has only caused a decline in education standards,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2013.
The National Students Federation (NSF) announced it was launching a signature campaign for the restoration of student unions. Punjab NSF President Irfan Chaudhry said they had started the campaign and around 10,000 students from various educational institutes from Lahore were expected to sign it. “We will go and ask students whether they want unions restored. If they agree with us, we will ask them to add their signatures and email addresses,” he said. They will later extend the campaign to other cities and request the Supreme Court to lift the ban on student unions, he added. Chaudhry said the ban was illegal and extrajudicial. “The Constitution allows citizens to form associations to protect their rights. Student unions were banned on February 11, 1984, by Ziaul Haq who took the step to divide the country on ethnic and religious lines,” he said. He said student unions did not promote campus violence as was sometimes alleged. “The ban has only caused a decline in education standards,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 14th, 2013.