Hostel closure bars students from tribal districts from attending university

Enrolled in Kohat University of Science and Technology (KUST), many students hailing from the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) face trouble in attending university as the administration closed down the hostel facility due to the COVID-19 surge.

The National Command Operation Center (NCOC) had instructed the institutes on November 26, 2020, to keep the hostel facility close to curb the spread of coronavirus pandemics. This has left many students coming from smaller and remote districts in KP stranded. Due to shifting the classes online, many students from small villages could not attend the classes due to the unavailability of internet facilities in the merged districts.

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'I do not know how I will continue my studies and take the online classes. There is no internet facility in my hometown North Waziristan,' said Fida, who is pursuing Masters in Business Administration from Kohat University, while speaking to TNN (Tribal News Network)

'The government has earlier said that the students of the merged districts, where there is no internet facility, will be allowed to stay in the hostels, but unfortunately, the university administration has closed the facility,' he adds.

Last year, when the country faced a surge in coronavirus cases, the government decided to close all educational institutes and madrassas, including hostel facilities, to control coronavirus spread.

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In a meeting with provincial governments and NCOC, the federal government had decided to extend winter vacation and close down the universities until January 11, 2021. However, due to the country's unfavorable situation, the government had extended the closure till February.

While some universities have kept the hostels closed even after the in-person classes have resumed, some universities allow students to shift to the hostel and take online courses to avoid the problem of weak or no internet in their villages.

Some quotes in the story are taken from Tribal News Network.