What’s Happening
University students continue to protest against the decision to conduct ‘on-campus’ exams and demand online exams. “ When we were taught online, our papers should also be conducted online,” urge the students.
Repercussions
Student unions have reported the disappearance of four students of University of Central Punjab(UCP), Lahore after a clash with law enforcement on Wednesday. The missing students include Haris Ahmad and Ali Ashraf. Five students activists leading movement against the holding of on-campus examinations in the city over the last two weeks were arrested in an early morning police raid on a house in Iqbal Town, Lahore on Thursday. There have also been reports of alleged police brutality at numerous protests. Read: 5 injured, 1 in critical condition and 500 booked for vandalism in students’ protest against online exams
Earlier
Due to weeks of sit-ins and demonstrations, andonline protests with hashtags like #JusticeforStudents trending, Higher Education Comission(HEC) took the note to allow universities to conduct online exams. Islamabad’s NUML university was one of the first ones to allow the arrangement of online exams.
I am happy to note that HEC has formally allowed the universities to conduct online exams with adequate safeguards. This paves the way for them to devise right procedures quickly to do so. Education standards must be kept up. Work hard students and wish you the best pic.twitter.com/8jgLKedivp
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) January 27, 2021
What’s next?
However, many universities nationwide stand with their decision of on-campus exams including Bahria University Karachi, of which students continue to protest against. To express solidarity with those arrested and disappeared, students of UCP will also be conducting a demonstration at Faisal Chowk, Lahore on Friday, 29 January.