Hundreds of private university students on Tuesday clashed with the security guards during the protests outside the University of Punjab (UCP), the students were protesting against the in-person examinations scheduled.
A large number of students staged a sit-in outside the UCP, the protests turned violent when some of them started pelting stones at its gate and tried to break into the campus. The police baton-charged the protesters and arrested five students.
University of Management & Technology (UMT) and University of South Asia (USA) accepted the demands of the students while the UCP is still with the decision of taking in-person examinations due to which students staged protests outside the university which turned into clashes.
Talking to News360, some students said that institutions had closed their hostels and the students of other cities did not have any place to live and questioned how they could prepare and appear in examinations in the prevailing circumstances.
While commenting on the fees issue, the students said that private institutions had charged thousands of rupees as fees and had not completed the syllabi. They demanded that the universities are stopped from charging further fees and they could not pay it.
Responding to the students’ protest, Shafqat Mahmood in a series of messages on the micro-blogging website, Twitter, said that some university students are demanding that their exams should be online as they have been studying online.
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“This is a decision for the universities to make but I have asked HEC to consult VCs and see if it is possible given special circumstances this year.”
Some university students are demanding that their exams should be online as they have been studying online. This is a decision for the universities to make but I have asked HEC to consult VCs and see if it is possible given special circumstances this year. 1/2
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) January 25, 2021
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday disposed of a petition filed by a student union of a private university against on-campus examinations.
Justice Babar Sattar of the IHC wrapped up the case after hearing arguments of the petitioner’s lawyers.
Advocate Qazi Rashid and Amar Satti had requested the court to order the university to hold online exams due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The court inquired from the lawyers why didn’t they approach the relevant forum, Higher Education Commission (HEC) to have their grievance addressed.
This matter pertains to the HEC and that the court couldn’t do anything about it, the judge observed.
While the students have a right to voice their opinion, it is the final decision of the university management whether examinations should be conducted online or in-person. The students cannot dictate the educational institutes and resort to violence, causing damage to the universities and themselves.