On January 26, 2021, a large group of undergraduates gathered before UCP (University of Central Punjab) in order to protest against the on-campus examination. Although, the situation went out of hand when the heat between the university security and students grew and took an unpleasant shape. The students protest turned into a clash between the protestors and the campus guards after the later reportedly started hitting the farmer with baton and threw stones.
The motive behind UCP Students Protest
The purpose of the students protest was to demand the online exams instead of the on-campus exam for this semester. When the government announced to reopen schools, colleges, and universities, contradicted the idea of physical exams since they have been taking online classes for a few months. They demanded the university to take the examination online, Reportedly.
As per students’ opinion, the decision taken by universities including UCP (University of Central Punjab), UMT (University of Management and Technology), and a few others, was unjust and unreasonable. The reason behind such supposition was that the teachers were untrained to teach students online; so, how come students should jeopardize their future by taking difficult and physical exams. Thus, the students protest took place in order for universities to acknowledge that exams should be taken online to match its difficulty level with online lectures.
In earlier days of pandemic and lockdown the students had also protested against the online classes due to numerous reasons including unfair institutional dues, untainted teachers, useless methods of teaching. Many students from different universities had gathered before HEC (Higher Education Commission) to enlighten the authorities regarding their concerns.
Students’ Perception About UCP Protest
Sources informed HoursTv regarding the students’ side of the story about the chaos that took place at the University of Central Punjab. Interestingly, several UCP students stated that the protest was supposed to be a peaceful act until boys from other institutes gathered, started shouting, and eventually attacked the university. They threw stones at the security guards and vandalized the premises. After that, the protest turned into a war zone in which many individuals were badly injured.
Despite the viewpoints of different students from the University of Central Punjab, various other undergraduates who belonged to other institutes also presented their opinions. According to what they explained, university security started beating the protesters with sticks, bats, and stones. They injured some of the protesting youngsters severely and allegedly took a student’s life.
Many youngsters found it suspicious how the police arrested only students who were trying to claim their rights. The security guards who brutally injured the students were not taken into custody.
Where many sided with the student protest and the violent actions they took, several also condemned the step taken by the undergraduates against the institute. They despised the behavior that certain young blood revealed in the form of remonstration.
The View of University Guards in This Situation
Since people have been looking at only the student’s side of the story, the channel decided to take viewpoints of security guards of the University of Central Punjab under consideration. Aside from the imagery created by numerous students, the guards along with police officials presented with a different angle. As per their perception, the people who were protesting were not only students, there were disguisers as well. Additionally, the students were from different institutes and they were peacefully protesting until some of the people standing in the crowd, attacked the guards, and entered the university by breaking the main gate. They broke the front booth and even started a fire which went on for a while. luckily, there were no casualties.
In the process of securing the institute, many security persons were injured due to the stoning by the protesters. They were only fulfilling their duty of securing the building from people who were trying to destroy it.
However, students claim that the protest was peaceful untill university guards started hitting the protestors with stones and batons. After the students protest outside the UCP the police arrested 25 students. There are also reports of four students from progressive students collective getting abducted from their residences.
Why Universities Are Sticking to Physical Exams?
Interestingly, many government universities are already taking the physical exams. The critics opine that one reason private universities are adamant on taking physical exam can be that the difficulty level may make it hard for all the students to pass consequently making them pay more for re-taking the courses. Many students believe that online classes haven’t proven beneficial for them in term of offering them quality studies hence they are not prepared for physical exam which can be more difficult.
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