Hundreds of students from both private and public colleges and universities across the twin cities held a peaceful protest demonstration on Friday to demand the restoration of student unions, accountability of higher education administrations, the institutionalization of laws against sexual harassment, and a commitment from the state to provide affordable education to all.
The demonstration was held by an alliance of organizations under the rubric of Student Action Committee as part of coordinated ‘Student Solidarity Marches’ in towns and cities across Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, student leaders including Azhar Rasheed of JKNSF, Omar Abdullah of RSF, Kamran Wazir of ABM, Basit Irshad of JKNSF-M and Aunil Muntazir of PrSF said that Pakistan is home to 130 million young people, and every government in recent memory has claimed that it is committed to securing the future for youth. However, our education system, as well as larger economic and political structures are at best ill-equipped to meet the needs of students, both while they are enrolled and after they graduate and join the workforce. Almost 2 million young people join the workforce every year, and the demand for higher education is skyrocketing. But universities are becoming profit-making factories that care little for student’s rights, representation or what happens to them after they graduate.
The SAC leaders said it is in this context that we believe the restoration of student unions is crucial to give young people a voice, ensure campus democracy, and address their many outstanding grievances. The pandemic has simply exacerbated long-standing issues. For instance, online classes were initiated even though many students from ethnic peripheries have no access to the internet and other infrastructure. Students continued to be charged exorbitant amounts of fee despite substandard teaching and administrative arrangements. There are insufficient hostel facilities and transportation for all students that are admitted. In some cases, students are being expected to take classes and examinations in extremely dangerous conditions, exposing them to the second wave of COVID19.
Meanwhile, harassment of female students in hostels, offices, and classrooms has evolved into becoming an epidemic. The student leaders demanded universal internet access, adequate accommodation, sexual harassment committees on campus, and an immediate end to ongoing physical exams and tests like MDCAT during the 2nd wave.
The SAC leaders also asserted that young people have been taught to distance themselves from politics, fully imbibing the logic of the Zia regime which outlawed student unions almost forty years ago. The only way to resolve issues on campus, and concerning the future of young people is by engaging in healthy political activism. This is why the primary demand of the Student Solidarity Marches across Pakistan is to restore student unions. After all, it is ultimately Pakistan’s young people who will face terminal issues like climate change, militarization, and structural economic problems.
The student leaders noted that it is when the masses start to engage in such healthy and democratic forms of activism that college and university administrations will be forced to bring an end to policies of selective victimization, including punishments like rustications that destroy young people’s future. Meanwhile, it is today’s students who will become tomorrow’s political leaders, and if we want to displace the war-makers and profiteers who rule us today, we must give students a chance to be politically active through institutionalized means.
