Misbahuddin Utmani
Peshawar: The Islami Jamiat e Talaba, condemning the strike and class boycott of the teachers’ fraternity of the Peshawar University for the past month, has again demanded the opening of the varsity, and threatened to hold a province-wide protest if their demand was not met.
The students participating in the protest, here on Tuesday, said that thousands of students are being targeted as they are losing their valuable time due to the boycott of classes at Peshawar University for the last three weeks.
Islami Jamiat e Talaba Peshawar leader, Asfandyar Izzat, said that this region has already been affected by terrorism, corona pandemic, and natural calamities, darkening the educational future of thousands of students, and now the class boycott by teachers can further affect their future.
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He demanded all schools of thought including teachers and students to play their role in the promotion of education at the University of Peshawar.
Aleem Hasan Amin, a student of IM Sciences University, told TNN that they are against the class boycott because most of the students studying at the varsity are from remote areas, these students spend millions of rupees annually, and here they are toying with their future.
Hassan urged the teachers to end the boycott as the students will support them in their legitimate demands, ”If the teachers do not end their boycott, we will be forced to stage a sit-in in front of the Governor House for an indefinite period of time”, he threatened.
The students also filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court against the boycott of classes and closure of the university by the teachers.
In the petition, filed by Isfandiar Rabbani, Junaid Iqbal, Syed Anis Bacha and Muhammad Hamza, the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, PUTA (Peshawar University Teachers Association) president, registrar, and class three and class four presidents of the varsity have been made parties.
Due to the continuous boycott of classes by PUTA, the valuable time of the students is being lost, while due to repeated boycotts of the employees, the academic identity of the university has been seriously damaged, and the university has moved from 7th to 889th place in the world ranking, stated the petition.
Saqlain Bangash, the security supervisor of the varsity, was killed by a security guard in Peshawar University’s International Hostel on March 5, the teachers’ association and non-teaching staff of the varsity announced a full strike the next day.
Teaching and non-teaching employees’ demands include the dismissal of the Vice-Chancellor, clearing the university of arms, termination of the temporary appointments, a judicial investigation into Saqlain Bangash’s murder, and the psychological examination of all the security guards at the campus.
