Dr Muhammad Khan
The primary objective of the student’s
union in Pakistan was to address the is
sues related to student’s affairs while developing a sense of leadership alongside. The student issues include day to day administrative affairs of students, their academic matters and aspects related to their academic growth under a knowledgeable environment. Thus the crux of having student unions in the universities was to develop a sensible and dedicated leadership at the national level with awareness of their problems and stand trained for the resolution of these issues. This also includes advancement of universities in a gradual process, improvement in academic environment, ensuring availability of academic resources and above all keeping the universities free from acting a hub of forces of conflict on political or religious bases.
Unfortunately, over the years, rather pursuing above-mentioned objectives, the student unions in Pakistan became a powerful tool at the hands of political and religious forces. Indeed, the talented students of universities were hired for undertaking the vested interests and undesired tasks of political and religious forces which neither meant resolution of the problems of students nor envision a dedicated national leadership. This brought a departure of the basic aims and objectives of the student unions. After losing the essence of the students unions, the forces started using these unions for attainment of their political objectives and other nefarious designs which stand contradictory to academic orientation and desired development of national leadership.
In fact in some of the cases, platforms of these unions were used for raising anti-Pakistan narrative, which was height of their role. Seeing the undesired activities by majority of students union in Pakistani universities, a ban was imposed over their active activities by Government(s). In a way, the students union became hostage of some forces which had different agendas, quite opposite to the development of young leadership in Pakistan. These forces have been providing uninterrupted finances to prominent talented students, bringing a materialistic approach among the juvenile nursery of Pakistan. There came a total disorientation among the students, away from pursuing academic goals and institutional development. In some of the cases, the academic staff and administration of the universities also became part of these forces, which were making use of students unions. The frequent strikes and closure of universities at the will of student union paralysed the higher educational system of the state.
The ban on students union though apparently brought relief for those students who wanted to pursue their academic carriers, but there remained a covert role of these political and religious forces among the students. With the ban on the unions, over the years there emerged another factor among the students of various universities. This was even more dangerous factor, indeed, a step forward towards disintegration of national unity and harmony. This factor included emergence of student unions based on ethnicity, provincialism and tribalism. Based on these factors, there grew a very negative politics in the universities. Today, this factor is gaining more strength in almost all universities of Pakistan.
There is a strong backing of this factor by some political forces which are using the talented youth of Pakistan for their political aims. But, they are forgetting the after effects of such a development based on ethnicity and provincialism. This indeed is amounting to sowing a seed for the disharmony and national disintegration. Unfortunately, the centrifugal forces have once again used the Pakistani talented youth for their nefarious designs. The Government of Pakistan and more importantly the state of Pakistan has to undertake a serious study to find a permanent solution to this problem which is getting complex day by day. Before, external forces start exploiting universities and university students, let’s find a national solution to a national problem. Almost all Pakistani universities of Pakistan are today facing severe financial problems, thus situation is getting bad to worse. If tomorrow, external forces start funding the Pakistani universities on various pretexts, they will definitely have their agendas and are we ready to face turbulence in our universities?
The recipe of these problems is the formulation of Academic Unions in all universities of Pakistan. These academic unions will have total academic agendas, away from political and ethnic usage of students and university staff. This will bring a total academic orientation among the students with the development of promising leadership skills among the youth of Pakistani universities and institutions of higher education. The essence of academic unions is the academic disciple based unions, pursuing higher dimensions in their future carriers with a clear orientation of their goals. These unions will aim at developing a dedicated and positive youth leadership right from the beginning. Apart from their academic pursuit, academic unions will have national integration and projection of soft power as their basic ingredients. Therefore, let’s start concentrating on the future growth and development of our talented youth on constrictive lines, before it is too late.
–The writer, a retired Brig, is Professor of Politics and International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad.
