Annoyed students once again on Monday staged a protest against poor policies of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and demanded cancelation of online classes started in universities in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak, terming those a ‘useless exercise’.
Around 1000 students belonging to different colleges and universities gathered outside HEC building holding placards and banner inscribed with slogans in favor of their demands.
According to the students, access to internet in far flung areas of the country is main issue they are facing while attending classes online. They said that they will continue protest till acceptance of their demands. The government last month declared for all educational institutions to teach online to their students.
However, apparently the decision has been rejected by the students who are concerned stakeholder of this matter. As so for they have been protested many time against online education decision of the government. Besides large number of students of whom protest against this decision remained top trend on Twitter many times, large number of helpless students had staged three times protest outside HEC and Press club and they hold two press conferences over this issue.
After their first protest later in last month, the HEC authorities assured them to address their concerns. “The HEC has assured the students to solve problems, being faced by some of them, regarding internet connectivity and quality of lectures in their online classes as well as subsequent examinations,” HEC said in a press statement right after a first day protest by the students in which the Commission termed the students “a group of few students”. As per that statement, the students categorically informed that promoting them without examination was out of question.
Regarding their concern for fee being charged by the universities, students were told to inform HEC about any specific issue that will be taken up with the respective university. Also, it added, the efforts are afoot to address some of the connectivity issues faced by students through collaboration with PTA and the Telecoms.
However, after mere issuance of the statement the authorities paid no heed towards practical measures to resolve this issue in real means which perturbed students and they have been compelled to stage another protest.
The students on the other hand said that either the online classes should be held all universities across the country or all varsities should announce for semester break.
“The HEC as regulatory body should compel all universities to follow the uniform policy in this difficult time”, they demanded adding that commencement of classes online by some varsities while rest are not offering is quite unjust.
The students also demanded for special relief in semester fee have already been charged by their respective varsities.
A senior official of the Commission said that to students’ demands are quite unrelated to the HEC as it is only keeling check on universities regarding quality of the studies they are offering to their students online. “The HEC just provide some particular guidelines as per conducted inspection”, the official claimed adding that it has no more interference in all internal matters of the Universities.
A student said that he used to be in the hostel and was able to work there and in the library. Now that he is home, he is finding it hard to attend classes, participate in classes, and do the assignments that need to be written while working from home. He is always conscious of household chatter going on in the background and is never sure when something absurd, outrageous, inappropriate or just plain distracting might be said.
During this difficult time span, a lot of students have been talking of access to internet. This issue created akin digital divide among the students particularly in those who are pursuing to higher educational studies. The experts say it relatively easy to remedy but due to poor management of concern quarters it become hard-hitting deal.
The HEC is the body that supposed in its Act 2002 to provide policy guidelines for over 200 public and private sector universities in the country.
