Shutdown: Hostel closure irks girl students

Parents and students protested against the closure order.

ATTOCK:

The head of a Government College for Women, Attock, has asked students to vacate their hostel within a week’s time.

The move has put the students and their parents in a dilemma. Principal Qamar Javed Chaudhry talking to the local reporters justified the order citing ‘high expenses’ as the main reason for the hostel’s closure. She said that students were paying Rs2,500 a month for boarding, food and it was impossible for the management to run the hostel with such a paltry sum.

She said that the inflated electricity bills were also the reasons, which had compelled them to take the step.

The students said that the principal had told them that she was retiring in January next year, and the new principal may ask them to vacate the hostel abruptly, so it was better they vacate it now.

Meanwhile, parents and students on Thursday protested against the closure order. They said that the move would hit the needy students hard, because they have no other choice but to lodge in the hostel. Meanwhile, district officer (DO) colleges, Attock, said that he would look into the matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2013.