PESHAWAR: Students of the University of Peshawar have complained about the prolonged boycott of classes by teachers and said the strike was causing a learning loss.

They told Dawn that they had paid huge fees but their education had been suspended for 25 days due to a tussle between teachers and the administration.

“The issues between teachers and university administration can resolve through a proper dialogue instead of wasting our precious time,” a student said.

The complete boycott of classes and other duties by teachers was launched by the joint action committee on March 6 after the killing of security supervisor of the university Saqlain Bangash by a private guard.

Protesters say dialogue on demands only after VC’s removal

The JAC comprising the representatives of the Peshawar University Teachers Association (Puta) and Class-III and Class-IV Association of the university have demanded the removal of the vice-chancellor, a judicial inquiry into the killing of the security supervisor, removal of arms from the campus, and psychological examination of all guards.

“Amid escalating inflation, our parents manage fee for our education with great difficulty,” said a student of the BS (Bachelor of Studies) course,” a student told Dawn.

He, however, said the teachers had locked university classrooms and offices forcing thousands of students into staying home for over three weeks.

Another student, who is an MPhil scholar, said he had finalised thesis for the fourth semester but couldn’t submit it to the department’s chairman or teachers due to the strike.

“If my thesis doesn’t reach the relevant office by the end of the current month, then I will have to pay Rs60,000 more for extra semester,” he said.

A student of the BS course said he appeared in the final semester examination a couple of weeks ago and anxiously awaited results but they’re delayed due to the teachers strike.

“As the results announcement faces long delays, I’m missing deadlines for scholarships and admissions for MPhil and PhD courses,” he said.

When contacted, Puta press secretary Dr Zafar Khan regretted that neither the governor, who was also the chancellor of the public sector universities nor the caretaker chief minister had taken notice of the teachers’ strike for three weeks.

“The teachers realise the waste of the students’ time, so they have decided to mitigate student loss by arranging special classes for them during summer vacation,” he said.

About their prolonged strike, Dr Khan said different organisations and associations staged protest demonstrations and observed strikes in favour of their demands but authorities arranged talks to amicably resolve issues, but in the case in question, nothing of the sort happened.

A senior member of the university’s administration told Dawn that provincial Governor Ghulam Ali had convened a meeting of the Puta, vice-chancellor and officials of the higher education department on Wednesday to sort out the issue, but it was postponed for a day as the governor had to attend an emergency meeting on the next elections to the provincial assembly.

He said the protesters had already refused to meet the administration saying the vice-chancellor should be removed before any dialogue.

The protesting employees have established a protest camp right outside the VC Secretariat and locked all offices of the administration for 25 days. No one is allowed to visit the central library as well.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023