FAISALABAD, Oct 5 The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) administration will constitute student governance committees at each hostel to avert any violent protest in future.

The decision was taken by the Deans Committee which met in the backdrop of an attack by a mob of university boarders at the official residence of the vice chancellor on campus.

On the night between Oct 1 and 2, the students besieged VC Dr Iqrar Ahmed's residence for about five hours and threw stones even in the presence of the university security guards, damaging valuables. They set a security vehicle ablaze, injured Farooq Ahmad, a university teacher, and broke the windowpanes of the auditorium.

The students also injured four constables when the police were called in, making the uniformed men stay away from the furious mob.

The meeting, chaired by the vice chancellor, decided that the Student Affairs Committee would formulate the SOP (standard operating procedures) for new committees and the institute head (vice chancellor) would constitute a parallel oversight committee to identify the lapses and suggest measures to avoid any untoward happening. The counselling and vigilance committees are being planned for each faculty/division/institute and sub-campus.

The meeting also decided to identify those who attacked the VC House, pledging to award exemplary punishment to them through the Student Affair Committee.

The Civil Lines police have registered a case against more than two dozen unidentified people on the complaint of security officer Nasir. No arrest has been made so far.

The demands the students made during midnight violence were relief to the students belonging to the flood-hit localities, payment of internship and admission of students possessing less than 3 CGPA to postgraduate courses. They were also protesting delay in declaration of results and admissions to postgraduate courses, non-cooperation of sanitary, electricity and civil work staff and what they said “improper attitude of some teachers, hostel staffers, security guards and others”.

The committee would ask the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) to minimise loadshedding on campus in keeping with the demand of the students. The officials decided to make available generator to each department with fresh purchases as well as repair of out-of-order ones.

Among other decisions were expeditious work on three under-construction hostels and introduction of admissions through one-window operation to facilitate students. The board of directors of the Endowment Fund Secretariat (EFS) and the Syndicate would be approached for construction of new hostels, it was decided.

A proposal for providing relaxation in fee and payment to undergraduate students sent for internship during session 2009-10 is on the agenda of the EFS that is set to meet on Oct 7 (tomorrow).

All PhD students will have to remain present in the offices of their supervisors and work in the laboratories from 8am to 4pm daily. They will mark their attendance on registers like the university staff. The admission of the PhD students who fail to attend the offices of their supervisors for seven days will be cancelled, were some other decisions.

Each PhD supervisor, it was decided, will submit data and an undertaking that no (PhD) student under his supervision will work in any public or private organisation during the period of study in the university. The supervisors have been asked to submit this data through their deans/directors to the VC Office. In case of incorrect information, the supervisors concerned will be taken to task for misconduct, the committee decided.

It also decided that in future the percentage for admission to postgraduate courses from within and outside the university will be set like other universities across the province.