Pak varsity bans students from smoking, idling time

A university in Pakistan has banned male students from smoking and barred them from sitting and passing off time with the female students.

Apart from these rules, the Bacha Khan University (BKU) in Charsadda town, near Peshawar, has also prohibited the use of shawls and ragging of new students. It has also banned the use of rooftops of all campus buildings, including hostels.

Some students have appreciated the new rules, but others voiced their concerns about it.

Basit Khan, a student of BKU, said: "The university is located in a rural district and most of the residents here are quite conservative. I personally agree with these decisions and I appreciate them because it is the responsibility of the [varsity] administration, to create a good environment in the university for the betterment of students."

Apart from that, the university has also banned politics on campus.

An official of BKU, who criticised the decision, said: "This is a university, but these people [administration] want to turn it into a primary school. The people will laugh at them, when they do such dramas, apart from harming the reputation of the university."

Chief Proctor of the university, Dr Muhammad Shakeel, told The Express Tribune that such activities were already barred on the campus and had just issued the notification, as the varsity seeks to implement it strictly.

"We try to create a better environment in university for students so that they only have one purpose. Smoking is banned in every educational institution. And the shawl ban has been done as a security measure," Dr Shakeel said.

On girls sitting with male students, Dr Shakeel added: "We do not want to create an environment like primary schools, but we just want to create a suitable environment for students to study."

The chief proctor clarified that the ban on male students idling time with female students did not mean that they would not be allowed to sit and interact near them.

However, he warned that if they were found sitting together for hours or in objectionable places, they would be pulled up.

About the punishments, the chief proctor said that these would be decided on case-to-case bases.

"If the violation is quite very serious, then the matter will be referred to the university disciplinary committee, who are empowered to expel students," added Dr Shakeel.