ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Wednesday deliberated at length on the revival of the students’ union after half a century and maintained that its revival should be improvised according to new trends and mindset of the young generation.
The Senate Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training, which met here with Senator Irfan Siddiqui in the chair, said that half a century old student unions need to be revived.
The committee while taking up the bill titled, the Islamabad Capital Territory Student Union, Bill 2023, introduced by Senator Bahramand Tangi deliberated that since long serious issues related to discrimination and injustice to students obstructing their social and academic life remained unattended, leading to dire consequences such as abductions and killings.
Tangi said that these issues can only be resolved through the collaboration of the management and the elected bodies as a bridge between the administration and students.
The committee was of the view that to address these issues prevailing in the student community and ensure a democratic and inclusive atmosphere for healthy debate and culture intellect a student union should be established in Islamabad Capital Territory which will play its role as nursery for training future leadership and will provide forums to students for constructive activities, civic life, understanding of rights, obligations and their enforcement.
Siddiqui emphasised the need for the revival of proposed student union should be drafted in a way that it must not become a hub of politics and must be above party lines, adding the revival must be improvised in a way which may facilitate the students at its maximum.
The panel discussed various procedures of elections in order to save the concept of union to be politicised.
The committee chair deferred the voting on bill up till next meeting. It gave time to members to go through the bill and submit appropriate amendments.
The committee also sought a detailed report from the ministry on the issue, adding the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should also give its viewpoint on the matter. The matter of regularisation of the services of the daily wages teachers was also discussed in the meeting. The committee extended the time for report and implementation by two weeks.
It was also directed by the committee chair that the minimum daily wages given to teachers be Rs35,000. The committee chair said that the matter has been pending since 2018 and the non-implementation of the courts orders may be characterised as negligence, irresponsible behaviour and non-seriousness of the ministry, and hoped that the matter may be solved at its earliest.
On the matter of re-employment of contractual Montessori teachers (BPS-17) the committee was apprised that the ministry will accommodate contractual Montessori teachers in upcoming projects under FDE as per feasibility with the posture that Ministry of Education and Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) stand by them in letter and spirit.
It also discussed the procedure, criteria and practice for rechecking of papers of various boards’ examination under the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (FBISE).
The chairman FBISE said that once a paper is evaluated it cannot be re-assessed. The chairman committee maintained that the re-assessment should not be taken away from students.
About the number of complaints for re-checking, he said that the total complaints could be no more than 10 to 14pc.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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