Worsening law and order situation and division of metropolis on ethno-territorial grounds has made it difficult for the government to run its educational institutions due to limited number of enrolments.
Centralized Admission Policy (CAP), an authority which grants admissions to students in government colleges of the city, had failed to ensure enrolment of students in public colleges and higher secondary schools due to prevailing law and order situation in some of the city areas. Last month, CAP announced admissions in all government-run colleges and higher secondary schools but there were some public educational institutions where students were reluctant to get admission due to life threats.
On Friday, CAP issued list of 30 colleges and higher secondary schools where seats were still available despite announcement of placement list of all groups. The authority also welcomed those candidates for admission who failed in one or two subjects in Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination 2012 but their admission would be confirmed or they would be enrolled for Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) examination once they pass all subjects in the SSC supplementary examination.
Sindh Director General (DG) Colleges Prof Dr Nasir Ansar has announced that some seats are available in 30 government-run colleges and the higher secondary schools. The girls colleges are: Govt Degree Girls College Orangi Town Sector 11 ½, Govt Degree Girls College Ibrahim Hyderi, Govt Degree Girls College Shah Faisal Colony, Govt Degree Girls College Landhi Mill Area, Govt Degree Girls College Metrovill SITE, Govt Degree Girls College Quaid-e-Millat, Govt Inter Girls College Lyari, Govt Degree Girls College, Baldia Town, Dukhtar-e-Mashriq Govt Girls College Jamshaid Road, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Govt Girls College Manzoor Colony, Govt Degree Girls College Qasba Colony, Govt Degree Girls College Sector 11-C Orangi Town, Govt Degree Girls College Surjani Town, Govt Degree Girls College Safora Goth, Jan Muhammad Brohi Govt Degree Girls College Gulshan-e-Mayamar, Govt Degree Girls College Pak Colony and Govt Degree Girls College Buffer Zone.
The boys colleges are: Govt Degree Boys College Konkar Gadap, Govt Degree Boys College Surjani Town, Govt Degree Boys College Manghopir, Govt Degree Boys College Baldia Town, Govt Degree Boys College Razzakabad, Govt Degree Boys College Murad Memon Goth, Govt Degree Boys College Shams Pir Baba Bith, Govt Degree Boys College Jungle Shah Kemari, Govt Degree Science and Commerce College Lyari, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Govt Boys College Behar Colony, Govt Degree Boys College SITE, Govt Degree Boys College Asifabad and Govt Haji Abdullah Haroon Government College.
These above mentioned colleges and higher secondary schools are situated in highly volatile areas of city. These colleges are situated in Orangi Town, Surjani Town, Kemari Town, Lyari Town, Landhi Town, Baldia Town and Malir Town which are considered as the highly volatile towns of the city. The government has deputed a large number of teachers and non-teaching force in these colleges and high secondary schools but students were reluctant for getting admission due to security risk.
Talking to Pakistan Today, ex-Pakhtun Students Federation (PkSF) President Ismail Mehsud said that some of government colleges in the metropolis have become no-go areas for Pakhtun students. “The Pakhtun students avoid taking admissions in Urdu-speaking majority areas and if they get admissions as per criteria of CAP, their parents do not allow them to go to colleges,” he added.
“If they would get admissions in sensitive areas, then they approach DG Colleges Sindh to allow them to attend classes in safer areas, but they have to go to collect admit cards in sensitive colleges where they are harassed,” he maintained. “When the scared candidates go to centres in Urdu-speaking areas for exam, they are tortured by criminal elements because of which some students drop their papers,” he alleged.
A local leader of All Pakistan Muttaheda Students Organization (APMSO) has also expressed similar concerns. He said Urdu-speaking students also avoid going to government colleges in Orangi, Surjani, Quaidabad, Landhi and particularly Lyari. “The students then write to DG Colleges Sindh to allow them to take classes in safer colleges, but they have to face consequences at centres during the exam,” he asserted. “Without naming any of college, he said, criminal elements in Lyari harassed students of different ethnic groups and the students of the every linguistic group avoid taking admissions in colleges of Lyari Town,” he added.
Sindh DG Colleges Prof Dr Nasir Ansar said the students were fearful to take admissions in these colleges due to prevailing law and order situation. In these colleges, some were established recently and students avoid taking admissions in the newly-established colleges and educational institutes and preferred established educational institutes, he said, adding the parents do not allow girls to get admissions in some of the city’s colleges due to security reasons.
