ISLAMABAD: The management of National University of Sciences and Technology (Nust) has made it mandatory for female students to wear ‘dupatta’ and put a ban on wearing ‘jeans’ in the premises of the university, according to sources.

The Nust’s management, however, has denied the report, saying that students have been instructed to wear ‘decent’ dresses.

According to a notice pasted on the notice board of the university, 11 students have been fined because of different reasons, including smoking and eating in labs. As many as seven students have been fined for not wearing dupatta or wearing jeans and tights.

A document signed by Nust’s Deputy Director (Administration) Abdul Nasir shows that some female students have been fined Rs500 to Rs1,000 for wearing jeans and tights and for not wearing dupatta.

According to the document, RA, a student of BBA, was fined Rs1,000 for wearing jeans and SM, another BBA student, was fined Rs500 for wearing tights.

Another five students — ZB, HA, AT, AB and SM — were asked to pay fines ranging between Rs500 and Rs1,000 for not wearing dupatta.

All the students were checked on Sept 17 and were found without dupatta.

According to a faculty member, Nust does not allow formation of academic staff association. Talking on condition of anonymity, he said no one from faculty members would comment on the issue. The environment in the university was very strict because all important administrative posts were held by retired army officers, he added.

“Male and female students are not allowed to sit together and they are fined for violation. Teachers and students know that they will be fired and rusticated if they do anything against the will of the administration,” he said.

Another faculty member who works in the Rawalpindi campus of the university said that top management of the university was liberal, but junior officers were very strict and they were running the university like a ‘military academy’.

TALKING POINT: The Nust issue has become much talked about among the youth of twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. They are sending messages on cellular phones to each other and posting their comments on social media networks.

A student posted on Twitter: “There is a separate cafe which boys can go to after 5 and separate cafe for girls….. Hide conversation.”

Another student Tweeted: “Wow.. never had an idea Nust was the taliban markaz.. thank God I didnt submit fee there.”

One student wrote: “Its the new Pro-Rector who is coming up with such awesome rules. It was bearable before.”

Nust’s spokesman Irshad Rao was contacted through Public Relation Officer Syed Raza Ali, but he refused to respond on the issue.

Mr Raza Ali told Dawn that he had seen the notice but he could not say anything about it because the management did not share such things with the media wing.

“As far as I know the management has instructed students to wear formal dresses and in case of violation they are fined. The Media wing will look into it on Wednesday,” he added.

Personal Staff Officer of Rector Col Mohsin said that students were allowed to wear any kind of dress.

However, he added, students were not allowed to wear indecent dresses. “Shorts are not allowed in university’s premises. As far as Hijab is concerned, it is up to the will of parents,” he said.

When he was asked about the notice of fines, Mr Mohsin said that he was not aware of it.