Restoration of Students' Unions

          Before discussing the Students' Unions in Educational Institutions, I would like to ask all the Political Parties to conduct Elections through secret ballots in their own parties from the village level to that of the country. Then pick those elected persons for the nomination to the Union, Town, Tehsil, District, Provincial and National levels posts. A person who is elected person of a Political Party in a village should be a candidate for the post of a Nazim in the local Government elections.

                   A person who wishes to be a candidate for the post of MPA or MNA should have come through the election inside the party in the related Constituency of MPA or MNA. The nominated person of a party should be the elected person of that party which is not the case at present. People in the party like one person and the party high ups impose on them another person which results in the defeat of that person at the hands of his own political workers and thus bring disgrace to the party. No electoral colleges be constituted which has resulted the present problems both in the elections and in the Legislations.

                   Political parties should undertake the responsibility of educating and training their workers and stake-holders in the habit of governance. For each tier of the system of the Government, the nominated persons should have knowledge and skill for avoiding unnecessary dependence on the permanent Government officials. When the political parties engage the young but talented and qualified person in the political affairs, it will provide the nation with a farsighted dynamic leadership to the country and to the young generation an opportunity for the use of their talent and energy. I put the responsibility of raising the youths to the various assemblies and giving them key posts for service on the political parties. At present, the parties have left the job of elections to those persons who have huge wealth instead of bright brains.

                   The role of the political parties should be active with young generation after their reception of Degrees from the Colleges and Universities, not before.

                   I shall narrate a story from my village. Once, a man belonging to the Khudai Khitmatgar movement of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, stood in the Mosque on the day of "Eid-ul-Azha" and started to deliver a political speech before those who had gathered for Eid Congregational Prayer. His own son, who is still alive and is a well-known intellectual, requested his father to stop the speech and let the people to perform their prayer and asked his father to gather the people on another day for delivering to them a speech. The people had many jobs to perform after the prayer.

                   The above incident of my village which my elders had told me many years ago came to my mind at the time when I heard the Prime Minister announcing restoration of Students' Unions in the Educational Institutions.

                   People send their children to the Educational Institutions for learning and spend huge amounts of money for that purpose the institution stands for.

                   I want the Prime Minister's sympathy with the students when they come out of the Educational Institutions with big Degrees in their hands wandering in search of employment for sustaining not only their lives but also for their enfeebled and tired parents who had sent their children to the Educational Institutions with the hope that their children would fulfil their desires of acquiring fruitful knowledge and would be appointed on the posts according to their acquired Degrees.

                   Let the vast majority of parents and students should decide whether they wish to revive those conditions which prevailed some 40 years ago in the Educational Institutions of the Country?

                   Acquisition of knowledge should be the priority number one of the student. Political activities should have tertiary status for a student especially like one reading in the Medical College or Engineering College etc.

                   At least 6 years of his life at college and University should pass in complete isolation and complete devotion to the cause for which he gets admission in the institution.

                   Those who want to play the game of democracy should be absolutely free from every restraint but outside the Educational Institutions.

                   They should motivate qualified persons to join their folds. They should nominate these qualified youngsters to the posts from the Union Councils up to the National Assembly and even the Ministers, Chief Ministers, Prime Minister and President.

                   The nomination of a Candidate for any post should not be subservient to the will of one person or a few persons in the Political Party but the majority of a party should decide the suitability of a Candidate through periodical elections inside the party.

                   At present, every political party considers a voter just a tool for bringing their wealthy leaders into power and once they get power then they discuss such matters which are not the matters of the majority of the people of Pakistan like discussing restoration of Judges instead of finding ways and means for providing Atta to the starving people or to provide them Atta on cheap prices, attendance on graves instead of considering measures for the minimization of Energy crisis and restoration of students' unions instead of finding jobs for the hordes of highly qualified jobless persons. Pakistan Television Peshawar Studio had telecasted some years ago a Pashuto drama serial written by Mr. Noorul Bashar Naveed named "Awaz" which had beautifully, honestly, skilfully and patriotically portrayed the situations in the University Campuses when such Campuses are intervened by such politicians who have no other goal except to increase their power and grandeur at the cost of sacrificing the innocent young generation in the guise of giving them their rights.

                   The PTV has recently re-telecasted its first episode after the announcement of the Prime Minister's for the revival of the Students' Unions. The serial is worthy to be watched in light of the P.M's announcement.

Thanks.

Manzoor Ahmad

B.Sc; L.L.B (Pesh) M.A. Political Science.

Dated: Wednesday, 16 April 2008.