Afghan students protest, want reappear exam this month

Amarjot Kaur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 17

Staging a hunger strike at the PU near the Vice-Chancellor’s office, foreign national students from Afghanistan, who are presently studying at PU-affiliated colleges in the city, voiced their demand for a special examination here today.

About 20 students want the PU to allow them an exclusive chance for reappearing in the exams of subjects they could not clear in September itself. The university will hold reappear exams for students with compartment in December this year.

The students claim to have been doing the rounds of the university for four months now, but the authorities haven’t been able to assist them as there is no such provision for foreign national students in the PU Calendar. Most of these students have been admitted to various courses under the ICCR Scholarships Scheme, which is sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Matiullah (21), who is a student at DAV-10, said: “Our visas will soon expire. We are facing financial crunch. Our families are asking us to come back. However, we have not been able to clear the exams in some subjects. We can’t wait until December.”

Golandam, a student at Dev Samaj College-45, said a majority of the Afghani students were not able to perform well in studies because of the language problem, even though they were toppers in their country. “Most of the teachers in many city colleges speak in Hindi and we are not so adept at it. Also, in our country, we have studied in Farsi and the text reads from left to right. It takes time to adapt. Most of us were toppers of our class back in Afghanistan,” she rued. A similar concern was echoed by Zarmina (23) of MCM DAV College-36.

Panjab University had, last year, awarded foreign national students a one-time chance for reappearing in exams around September, the students said.

Prof Nandita Shukla Singh, Dean, International Students, said: “Bound by the Calendar rules, we can’t allow such an exam before December and we are hoping that the Embassy will extend their visas.”