Many students in today’s Pakistan have never interacted with a student union. For the average teenager, the concept is foreign. No one has ever heard of a student-run group that consists of students, for the students. This group is made expend its energies, time, and resources to the student community, from organizing protests concerning fee-structures, appalling administrations to poor quality teaching in educational institutes.
However, student unions were not always unheard of in Pakistan. In the 1950s and 1960s, these student-run bodies were operational in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh and were quite relevant.
In what has been dubbed an Orwellian move, the late General Zia ul Haq issued a ban on all student unions in 1984. 36 years later, the ban has continued. This has occurred despite the promises of political and social leaders to address the issue that has plagued the youth of Pakistan for many years.
The ban was issued on 9th February 1984. It came as an attempt from Zia to squash the rising violent clashes between students that were on the right side of the ideological divide and the left. In the wake of the ban, the situation has only dwindled as violence on campuses has spawned in its growth and key intellectual debates and discourses have been stifled.
The ban was lifted in 1988 for a short period by Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. However, this was challenged by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1990. The court issued a ban in 1993 once more. Since then, it has been upheld.
Despite the fall of student unions, the discussion around them has not yet died. Their revival has been a fixture of constant debate amongst many circles, but there has been little to no progress in this arena. In 2008, Yousuf Raza Gillani promised to restore student unions, but this promise, like many others, has failed to materialize.
The latest attempt was made by the People’s Political Party in Senate in 2017. On the 27th of August, the Senate passed a resolution to restore student unions on basis of the positive roles of student unions – namely protecting the rights of students and arranging activities for the students of Pakistan. However, the resolution was stopped in its tracks as it failed in the Parliament.
Progress has, however, been made on the provincial level, as attempts and resolutions to restore student unions have been made by the Sindh Assembly. On the 4th of November 2019, the Sindh Assembly attempted to pass a resolution to lift the bans on student unions in the province. But the provincial government has not lifted the ban off yet.
One of the most prominent voices in the movement for student unions is Arooj Aurangzeb. She made her mark at the Faiz Festival and has often spoken about the restoration of student unions as she believes students have forgotten their rights. The ban, she believes is detrimental. She said, “Because of this, students do not realize that they have a say in decision making and that they can make decisions about their education.”
Student unions are so much more than simple student-run organizations. They are ‘nurseries of leadership’. These unions encourage dialogue and debate between students of different parties. These unions also offer one of the first instances of engagement with politics, as regular and annual elections are held which teach students the logistics of elections and building a support base. Also, intellectual discourse and debates ensure that the students are aware of varying points of views. This helps create tolerance for these stances, and enables an ‘agreeing to disagree approach’.
Besides, coalitions within student unions are pretty common, such as the one between the Progressive Students Alliance and the United Students Movement. These coalitions teach intrinsic values such as compromise, the value of the vote, and the basics of mature politics.
The primary benefit of student unions are the protests and communication with government institutions. The union ensures that the voices of students are heard, rather than being squelched in the din of other issues. One of the ways to protests is peacefully marching in the streets in an attempt to garner attention.
The focal need for student unions comes from fee hikes, the silence of dissent, harassment scandals, bullying, poor quality teaching, and arrests from campuses. Moreover, issues such as security and disciple, gender imbalance, famished faculties, and the stifling of notable voices in the education sector such as Ammar Jan and Pervez Hoodboy.
This issue has been raised by the Student Action Committee, which launched a countrywide movement due to the extremely poor conditions of education in Pakistan. In light of these issues, the monumental Student Solidarity March took place in November of 2019. The agenda of the march had 9 main demands. As reported by Essf these were:
The restoration of student unions
The announcement of election dates,
An increase in budget for education to at least 5% of GDP with no further budget cuts
The overturning of the administrative rule which requires students’ to sign an affidavit that bars them from any kind of political activity,
The establishment of harassment committees at campuses with student representation
Demilitarization and securitization of campuses
Provision of hostels, transport and other facilities on campuses,
Putting an end curfew timings imposed on students in university administered and private hostels
The introduction of environment-friendly policies by the government.
In addition, the collective wanted to put an end to “unnecessary interference by security forces and the release of all arrested students involved in political activities.” According to Hashim Kaleem, one of the organizers of the march, this is a method of policing, under the guise of security. It discouraged critical thinking.
Given the poor impact of the ban of student unions in the country, it is believed that by lifting the ban, mobilization and impact will increase manifold. Following the march in November, Prime Minister Imran Khan has indicated that unions could be revived. But that is yet to be seen.
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