RECORDER REPORT 

ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq on Wednesday demanded of the government to increase the education sector budget up to five percent, end corruption in education sector, and decrease educational institutions’ fees. 

Addressing students’ rights convention organized by Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan at D-Chowk, he also demanded of the government to abolish tax imposed on the education sector. He said that our government has allocated only 2.6 percent in the financial year budget for education sector, which is lower than the education sector budget of Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and India. 

A large number of JI students from various parts of the country participated in the student rights convention. Students were holding party flags, banners and placard in favour of their demands. Huge contingent of police was deployed on the occasion to avert any untoward incident.  

Haq said that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has demanded to allocate Rs1.4 billion for the HEC to promote higher education in the country but the present government did not allocate the same amount. He asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari to restore students unions.

If doctors and other communities can make organisations then you have deprived students from such right, he said, adding that PPP, Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) have promised that they will restore student unions but unfortunately, neither, PPP, PML-N, and nor the PTI fulfilled their promise.    

The JI Ameer said that JI Pakistan will make utmost efforts for provision of due rights to students in the country as well as across the world. “Today JI students have not come to Islamabad only for their own rights but are also gathered here for the poor parents who fail to educate their children due to rising inflation in the country”, he said.  

He told the students that you neither gather here against any National Accountability Bureau (NAB) case nor for obtaining loan but you are just demanding right of education from the rulers.

The students gathered here want that they should not be deprived of the right of education, he said, adding that the provision education is the responsibility of the government but unfortunately, our government has ignored this sector. Haq said that today is the international student day and students were holding rallies in various parts of the world for students’ rights. 

Hamza Muhammad Siddiqui, Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) Pakistan and other leaders also spoke on the occasion.