Protest rallies against board of governors in public colleges

FAISALABAD: Protest rallies were organised in several cities of the province on Thursday against the establishment of boards of governors in 26 public colleges.

The participants held banners saying ‘establishment of the district education authority not acceptable’ and ‘board of governors not acceptable’.

A protest rally was taken out from district council chowk in Faisalabad. The participants including students, teachers and civil society members walked up to the press club. The rally was led by the president of the Joint Action Committee of teachers, Professor Riazul Haq. Addressing the protestors, he said that with the establishment of board of governors, college education will become too costly for most students. He held that the quality of education provided in the colleges will deteriorate under the new system.

The participants, at the end of the rally, announced that a protest would be organised in Lahore on September 21. They said that all colleges in the province would be closed for unannounced period in case the government does not rethink its decision.

A rally was taken out from Government College in Gujranwala. It culminated at Commissioner’s Office after passing through the Jail Road. A student told Daily Express that by treating the education sector as a business, the government would end the few opportunities available to the poor to improve their condition.

The office bearers of the Gujranwala Bar Association also joined the rally in solidarity with the teachers and students.

A rally was taken out by the students and teachers of the Government Post Graduate College, Joharabad. The rally ended at the district press club where the Punjab professors and lecturers’ association office bearers and some student organisations’ leaders addressed the participants. They criticised the education policy of the provincial government. Addressing the protestors, Professor Rana Abdul Waheed, Professor Khalid Gillani Tiwana and Professor Hameedul Rahman Sindhu said that the government only wanted to privatise the colleges and was calling it ‘self governance’ to avoid criticism.

They said that the protests would continue until the acceptance of demands including the dissolution of the district schools authority and the board of governors and a withdrawal of the decision to increase tuition fees.

They also asked the government to restore the university budget and to allot time-scale to the teachers. Professors and lecturers of the Government College for Boys and Government Women College of Sahiwal took out a protest rally and staged a sit-in outside the offices of the Commissioner and the district coordination officer (DCO).

Students and lecturers of the Government Postgraduate Degree College for Boys, Jhang, organised a rally to protest against the government. They condemned the decision of giving colleges’ independence status under boards of Governors.

The rally culminated outside the DCO’s office after passing through the Sargodha Road. They asked the government to withdraw the decision with immediate effect.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2010.