Righteous anger: Students turn down Ghazi varsity degrees

Students from UAF sub-campus say they are being issued degrees by a university not recognised by HEC

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Dozens of students belonging to the University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Dera Ghazi Khan sub-campus staged a protest demonstration on Thursday. The students blocked the Dera Ghazi Khan-Quetta Road and boycotted classes.

The protesting students claimed that they were being issued certificates by Ghazi University instead of the UAF. They also said that the fees of students from Balochistan had not been refunded as promised by the Punjab government.

The students arrived at the Airport Mor early in the morning and staged a sit-in.

Pervez Alam, one of the protesters, said that he had got admission in the UAF Dera Ghazi Khan campus three years ago. “We were enrolled with the UAF. We took the exams conducted by the UAF. However, after we passed the final exams, we were given degrees issued by the newly-established Ghazi University,” Alam said. He said that the students would not accept these degrees.

Another protester, Omair Sultan, said that the Ghazi University had not yet been recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC). “This means that the degrees given to us have no value,” Sultan said. Mehr Hazaar, a student from Balochistan, said that the chief minister had earlier directed education authorities to waive the fees of Baloch students studying in public sector education institutes. “We had already submitted the fees. The authorities assured us that our fees would be refunded. However, nothing has been done so far in this regard,” he said. He said that Baloch students studying in other institutes had received their cheques. Prof Hassan Iqbal Khan Changwani, the Ghazi University project director, reached the spot and negotiated with the students. Upon his assurance, the protesters dispersed.

Talking to The Express Tribune, UAF Dera Ghazi Khan sub-campus dean Dr Shafqat Nawaz said that the points raised by the students were valid. “We have forwarded the students’ demands to the HEC and the UAF vice chancellor,” he said. Nawaz said that the administration was also working on refunding the fees of nine students who belonged to Balochistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2014.