Of students and administration

NWFP UET students slam administration for closing down varsity

* Students criticise university administration for holding final exams ahead of scheduled date

By Fawad Ali Shah

PESHAWAR: NWFP University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Peshawar students have slammed the university administration for its decision to close down the institution for the next 18 days.

They also criticised the university administration for holding the final term examinations on June 9, which were earlier scheduled for the end of the same month. The students claimed that they had not completed their courses yet and were punished for demanding their due rights.

They had tried to organise a protest rally on May 20 to press the administration for installation of electricity generators in hostels. However, they were not allowed to stage the protest and the administration, the students allege, used “violent means” to stop them. UET student Haris Sarwar said that due to the unscheduled vacations, they would miss the crucial part of their courses. Another student Amir Shah claimed that as the courses were not complete yet, the administration would include a mid-term course in the papers.

The campus police claimed that the student rally was not peaceful, and that students tried to damage university property. However, the police admitted that the students were dealt with force “on orders of the administration”. On the other hand, the university administration claimed that the institution was closed in order to provide the students ample time to prepare for their examinations.

“Courses are complete and we want to provide them (the students) sufficient time to prepare for their examinations. Meanwhile, we will try to ensure the installation of electricity generators in the hostels,” Director Media and Public Relations of the NWFP UET said.