Admission woes: Students find acquiring domicile an irksome process

DC office says additional and assistant commissioners also authorised to sign forms.

PESHAWAR:

Students of the provincial capital are facing a host of difficulties in obtaining domicile certificates to apply for admissions to higher education institutions after the introduction of the commissioner system.

With the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations completed, various colleges have begun the admission process for the next academic year. A domicile certificate is among the various documents needed to secure admission in higher education institutions. However, students complain authorities have made getting a domicile certificate a very lengthy and complicated process.



“As the last date for submitting admission forms to colleges comes nearer, we are forced to visit offices of high officials to get our certificates signed,” said Irfan Khan, a student visiting the Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) Peshawar office.

Irfan said previously the forms for domiciles were easily available at any book shop, but now students have to collect them from the DC’s office which is quite a hassle. “I have had to get my form signed from various officials and it takes at least five to six days,” he said.

Another student, Amjid Ali Shah was of the opinion that new students are not aware of the procedure and thus precious time is wasted.

“After getting the form from the DC office, I will have to get it signed from a patwari and then gardawar and then from a BPS-17 officer. All this is very difficult for me. I don’t even know who this area’s patwari or gardawar are,” complained Amjid.

Sher Ali, a parent, said the procedure was much easier earlier. “You took the form from a book shop and got it signed by the union council nazim and a village elder who was a government employee. Now it has become very difficult,” he said.

According to an official of the Islamia College administration, the last date for submitting all relevant documents is July 3. The college will not accept any admission form without a domicile certificate, he stressed.

DC Office Peshawar Spokesperson Feroz Shah said changing the procedure of getting a domicile form is the responsibility of the provincial government.

“Additional and assistant commissioners are signing the domicile form for students as well. They (students) can visit the office and their work will be complete within an hour,” Shah claimed.

Meanwhile, the Peshawar High Court has also accepted Advocate Essa Khan’s petition filed against the newly-formulated policy for obtaining domiciles, seeking a reply from the provincial government by July 4.

Khan contended the form’s price had been increased from Rs10 to Rs30 and it could only be collected from the DC office. He told the court under the new procedure, people have to wait in long queues outside the DC’s office, wasting a lot of time. He also complained students have to get signatures of a patwari, gardawar and tehsiladar (revenue officers) who already have lesser credibility.

Khan claimed the students face great difficulties in getting the forms signed by the said officials who are usually not available in their offices.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2013.