Still standing: Malala Centre for Gender Studies alive and kicking

HARIPUR:

Malala Centre of Excellence for Gender Studies (MCEGS) remains functional at the Government Post Graduate College Haripur and students are attending classes without interruption, the college’s principal Prof Abdul Wahab Khan said on Saturday.

Commenting on a tweet regarding a ban on new admissions, Khan informed The Express Tribune that 11 students in their fifth and seventh semesters have been regularly attending classes. The required number of students have not enrolled over the past two years despite efforts by teaching staff and student body, he added.

“I have even tried to offer incentives of fee concession to attract maximum numbers of students for the Gender Studies department but unfortunately only four students were willing to join,” he said.

According to Khan, the students were denied admission because the education secretariat at Peshawar devised a policy last year whereby colleges have been directed not to enroll students in a department unless they were 20 or more. The directive is not specific to the Malala centre and applies to all colleges and universities, he added. Nevertheless, Khan is committed to ensure maximum enrolment at the MCEGS.

“How can I ban admissions or close down the centre which was named after a girl who belongs to my area in Swat?” he asked.

The centre is equipped with requisite facilities but has been unable to encourage students to opt for gender studies.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2014.