The Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Punjab allegedly refused to take in a girl because she was visually impaired.
In an online interview, the student named Kinza Sajjid recalled the story of her entry test and the unprofessional and rude behaviour by the management of the department.
“Few days before the test, I requested the department to provide me with a question paper with a larger font because of my eyesight and they made a huge issue out of it,” Kinza said, adding that when she reached for the test, the clerk asked her why she came for the test.
“Later, the management called me from the test hall and the teachers of the department admonished me for coming in to give the test. They told me that I am not fit for the field of psychology,” Kinza said, adding that she tried to convince the management otherwise, stating that her eyesight is not an issue for her because she has done her Bachelors degree already from Forman Christian (FC) College and achieved 95 per cent marks.
“They refused to listen to me and did not allow me to go inside the hall after which I started crying and called my father, who is a renowned doctor,” she recalled.
“My father used his contacts and got in touch with the Governor House, following which I was allowed to give the test, one hour late,” the student said. She further stated that the department, however, made her sign an undertaking which said that despite this test, she will not get an admission in the desired department and only the management of the department will take the final decision regarding this.
Criticising the department, Kinza said that the issue was blown out of proportion, which is highly unprofessional from the university’s side.
“I have got admission in Government College University (GCU) Lahore as well as the University of Sheffield in the same semester,” she said.
“After the incident, I wrote a Facebook post and it was revealed that I was not the only victim, the department has done the same with many other students with disabilities,” Kinza mentioned, adding that psychology is all about emotions and she fails to understand why they treat potential students in this manner.
