KARACHI, Oct 23: The fate of around 18,000 students of four government colleges and four schools housed in the Islamia College building complex hangs in the balance as the historical building has to be vacated and handed over to the Sindh High Court’s official assignee by Oct 25 in pursuance of an order passed by a government rent controller in April.

The colleges and schools being run under the roof of the Islamia College building complex include Islamia Science College, Islamia Arts and Commerce College (morning), Islamia Arts and Comerce College (evening), Islamia Law College, Qureshi Primary Boys School, Qureshi High Secondary School, German Model Secondary School and D.B. Advani Sindhi Primary School.

Though the Sindh education department, managing the affairs of the eight educational institutions since their nationalisation in 1972, had recently filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court against the order of Rent Controller-III (Karachi East) and its officials are optimistic of getting a stay order in the case, thousands of students of all the eight government educational institutions are in agony over the uncertain situation as they do not know where would they be accommodated in case they are dislodged from the premises.

The worst sufferers among them are the students of degree classes (BA, BSc and BCom) as their annual examinations are scheduled to begin in mid-November.

“Isn’t it ironical that we are being dislodged from our college on the eve of our examinations,” a student of BSc (final) of the Islamia Science College, Mohbin Anis, remarked while expressing her concern over the prevailing uncertainty.

Another student of BSc (final) of the same college, Tanveer Akhtar, said: “Our studies have already been affected badly since we came to know that the premises of our college are to be vacated and handed over to a court’s assignee by Oct 25.”

A number of other BSc (final) students, including Umme Salma, Amtul Shafi and Afshan Naeem, said it was because of the prevailing uncertainty that most students had lost their peace of mind needed for studies and they did not know from where they would be collecting their admit cards and when and where they would be able to complete their remaining practicals in case their college was handed over to someone else.

Commenting on the prevailing uncertainty, a first-year student of the Govt Islamia Commerce College, Shahzaib Shaikh, said the government should take up the issue on a priority basis and bring an end to the prevailing uncertainty, or else their studies would suffer further.

Some other first-year students of the same college, including Mohammad Umer and Ashar Ahmed, said that since the provision of education was the responsibility of the government, it should acquire the Islamia College building complex so that thousands of students, most of whom belonging to the low- and middle-income groups, might continue their studies with peace of mind.

History of the premises

Tracing the history of the college, Islamia Science College principal Prof Abdul Mobin Khan told Dawn that the Islamia College Science College, situated on Jigar Muradabadi Road, was inaugurated by the then president, Field Marshal Mohammad Ayub Khan, on Aug 24, 1961.

Founded by A. M. Qureshi from the platform of the Islamic Education Trust, the Islamia College building complex also had the distinction of having on its premises the graves of Maulana Shabbir Ahmed Usmani, Syed Sulaiman Nadvi, Zahid Hussain and Barrister Ashraf.

Located near the Quaid’s mausoleum and in front of the Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, the Islamia College complex is spread over 26,000 square yards (about five acres). On the one side, it faces New M. A. Jinnah Road and on the other Jigar Muradabadi Road.

Highlighting the historical importance of the plot where the Islamia College building complex is situated, Prof Mobin Khan said it was the same plot where the fourth meeting of the All-India National Congress was held in 1934, and where a delegation of the Pakistan Muslim League’s first convention had stayed. Indian Congress leader Mahatama Gandhi had also stayed in a temple located in the vicinity of the Islamia College building complex.

The huge ground-plus-three storey Islamia College building complex, which is said to be the biggest college building in the country, has 192 rooms, 15 departments, 19 well-equipped science and five arts laboratories, a zoological museum and a library having more than 53,000 precious books, he said.

He added that a large number of prominent personalities belonging to different walks of life had studied in the Islamia College, including Prof Hassan Askari, Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Altaf Hussain, former MPA Nasrullah Shaji, Karachi University’s Dr Mustafa Kamal, Dr Sabira Sultana, and a number of cricketers such as Zaheer Abbas, Shahid Afridi, Asif Mujtaba, Azim Hafeez and Olympian Munawwar-uz-Zaman.

Classes on road planned