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NUML's peculiar ways of pestering students
ISLAMABAD, Aug 7: Students at the
National University of Modern Languages (NUML) are pushed from pillar to post,
only to find that the administration is not ready to refund their security fees
that were deposited two years back.
The problem multiplies for those who
come from outside Islamabad. It's astonishing that a student has to obtain
clearance from six different departments to get the library security back. These
troublesome departments include administration, library, examinations, accounts
and academics. None of these departments is ready to make the clearance, and the
clerks present there insult students if they insist on getting their money back.
Students said that the gun-totting security staff even forced them
out from the university gates in a humiliating manner, disallowing their entry.
It is unclear if their bosses have ordered them to stop students at the gate or
they're taking matters into their own hands. The students are so intimidated by
the guards that they refused to mention their names or the names of the
officials concerned. A girl said she could hardly fight her way
through the gates to administration offices. Another student said the
administration clerks became rude as soon as they knew the matter was about
fees. "We are asked to produce a 'solid proof' to enter the university, let
alone getting back our fees," he said. He said no one could furnish the 'solid
proof' at the gate as the form for fee refunds was issued at the administration
office, for which one had to cross the gate. "How you could satisfy a
gun-wielding illiterate security guard if he refused to recognise you despite
the fact you have been a student at the university for the past two years,
passing the same gates daily," he added. "We have to cite references of
different teachers to enter the university. It's an abject form of insult," said
a student, who came from Tala Gang. He said there was no reason to stop old
students at the gate other than holding back their fees.
A girl said one
had to come and go out of the university many times to fill up all forms and
arrange documents, as the procedure was lengthy. "For example, a clerk would
demand a photocopy of your ID card. The photocopier in the university is an
object of disappointment, like many other things. So you have to leave the
university to get a photocopy but then you are again at odds to get back into
the university as the guards would not let you in," she said. The administration
staff has its own ways to pester the students. "The clerks and their bosses do
not know how to deal with students, especially girls, as they fluently use slang
language," said a student. She said the clerks and their bosses talk to students
in their colloquial dialect, in place of the official Urdu language. "The
colloquial dialects are hard to understand. When we ask the officials to clear
their point, they shout back and hurl abuses," she said, demanding the
administration and accounts staff had to learn to behave.
When NUML
Spokesman Col (r) Ghazi was contacted for his version regarding the students'
complaints, he said he would bring them into the notice of the relevant
departments to address them. Daily times
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