By Rafiullah Mandokhail
ZHOB ( Parliament Times) : ‘Despite the fact that education and development are interdependent. The countries experienced accelerated development have done so by modernizing and facilitating meaningful education, but in this era of science and technology, we are deprived of the modern educational opportunities. Our problems are ranging from poverty, unemployment and low literacy rate and state-of-the-art educational institutions. Historically and geographically important, Zhob has always remained a backward, remote district of Pashtoon-Baloch province,’ lamented the Pashtoonkhwa student organization here on Friday.
Addressing a crowded press conference, the provincial deputy organizers of Pashtoonkhwa student organization Emal Sarwan, Samad Afghan, district secretary Amir-ul-Bashar, district senior co-secretary Irfanullah, secretary BUITEMS Zhob campus Qahir Khan Kakar, office bearers and activists said that the densely populated district Zhob shares borders with South Waziristan, Afghanistan, Loralai and Dera Ismail Khan but Ironically deprived of all the basic amenities of life including a state-of-the-art university even in this modern era.
‘Today, there are twenty universities alone in Faisalabad, twenty-five universities in the Punjab capital Lahore and over two dozen universities in the federal capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi, but unfortunately, with few universities, our literacy rate is still very low as compared to other provinces,’ they said.
The students said that Pashtoon-Baloch province, particularly Southern Pashtoonkhwa, is facing numerous problems including poverty, backwardness, illiteracy, unrest and unemployment. Keeping in mind the educational backwardness, the utmost priority of the higher education commission, governor, the caretaker CM and the provincial education minister should be modern education.
‘Establishment of BUITEMS Zhob campus is a much appreciated initiative, where both girls and boys students from this backward region are studying in different disciplines. A few years back, the construction work of the campus was started on two hundred acres of land near Killi Hassanzai,’ they lauded.
They said, the sub-campuses of Panjgur and Turbat varsities have been granted university status, but the BUITEMS Zhob campus has not been granted university status so far. Now the students eager to get higher education have no other option but to travel to other provinces.
‘If BUITEMS Zhob campus is not given the university status immediately, on one hand, the semester fee will become unaffordable, while on the other hand, few students will take admissions at the campus, which will be resulted in closure of campus in near future,’ they lamented.
The students have demanded the upgradation of BUITEMS Zhob campus into university, so that the educational backwardness could be eliminated.