GCU scandals mar ORU elections

LAHORE: Surfacing of one scandal after the other at the Government College University (GCU) forced old ravians to stay away from the annual elections of the Old Ravians Union (ORU), as a very low voter turnout was witnessed during the polling on Sunday with only 584 out of the total 6,500 members casting their vote, Pakistan Today has learnt.
ORU member said that poor policies of GCU Vice Chancellor (VC) Dr Khalid Aftab, the recent issue of Registrar Faisal Khurshid, faculty politics and students protests for their rights had disheartened them and they were worried about the future of the historic institution. The ORU members said that the recent situation at the varsity had badly damaged its repute and they had no desire to participate in the elections.
An old ravian said that Aftab’s decision to appoint a controversial man as the varsity registrar and astonished all people who had an association with GCU and they were now avoiding identifying themselves as old ravians. ORU members were seen criticising the policies of the current administration and blamed Aftab and Khurshid for damaging the institution’s repute. Noted politicians, bureaucrats, educationists, industrialists and judges were members of the ORU including Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif, renowned scientist Samar Mubarakmand and others.
The ORU was established in 1934 and revived in 1995, as the only official elected body of old ravians. The union’s office was located on the varsity campus and according to its constitution, the GCU VC was the ex-officio patron of the body.
Presently, the union had around 6,500 members including 50 Indians who studied here before partition. The union had its affiliated chapters in Karachi, Islamabad, India, UK, US and Canada. According to rules, all old ravians were eligible for membership and its elections were held every two years on the varsity campus.
The union arraged intellectual, social, cultural and sports events where old ravians met and interacted with other. The body worked to assist and help the varsity in various fields. The ORU was also instrumental in collecting funds from old ravians for the GCU Endowment Fund Trust, which was used to provide financial aid to deserving students and for the varsity’s development.
Toseef, a ravian in the 90s, said that in the past, old ravians in large numbers participated in the elections but the situation was quite different this year. He said that it was unfortunate that Aftab was struggling to appoint Khurshid despite the fact that the whole faculty was protesting against him.
Toseef said that faculty members had also written a letter to Punjab Governor and Chancellor Salmaan Taseer in this regard. Shahbaz, another old ravian, said that it was for the first time that GCU students were protesting on the roads for their rights and a female had complained of harassment by the VCs favourite man.
He said that other institutions of Lahore were progressing but GCU faculty members were leaving the institution due to the former registrar. Shahbaz said that a large number of ORU members had not participated in the elections, as a protest.
A GCU professor, seeking anonymity, said that it was shameful for administration that old students had stopped casting votes in the elections. He said that GCU’s good image was an old story now and varsity’s situation was poor.
The professor said that the faculty was silent just for the sake of their jobs and requested the PM and Punjab government to kindly save an historic institution, which was in grip of a third divisioner. He said that faculty members who loved GCU and rendered their services for the college were sidelined by the former registrar and VC and they were just waiting for a miracle to happen.
The professor said that if the PM did not take notice of the situation then one day no one would participate in the elections. GCU Public Relations Officer (PRO) Musadiq Sultan claimed that a large number of old ravians had participated in the elections.