ISLAMABAD: The federal police detained a number of students during a protest against matriculation and intermediate examinations outside the Higher Education Commission (HEC) office in Islamabad today (Thursday).
The students were protesting in-person exams as well as calling for Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood’s resignation. According to the protesters, they were taught the courses online and they claimed they were unable to prepare well for the upcoming examinations.
The students also announced to continue their sit-in till the approval of their demands. A heavy contingent of police was present on the occasion to deal with any untoward incident.
Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Dr Mustafa Tanveer told a private newspaper that as the number of protesters increased, they blocked the Ninth Avenue. “We were told to use force to clear the road for traffic,” he added.
The police then detained around a dozen students and used force to disperse the protesters and clear the road for traffic, the official said. The students were later released.
In January, the HEC took note of the concerns raised by students that their examinations should be conducted online. The apprehensions of students were reviewed carefully in consultation with the VCs of all the provinces and regions, keeping in view the difficulties brought about by the pandemic as well as the opening of universities from February 1.
The official mentioned that the three-hour meeting had ended without a definitive conclusion as the VCs present were split on the decision to hold online examinations while it was noted that some universities had already taken students’ final exams online.
