The University of Peshawar, once celebrated as the “mother institution” of higher education in KPK, seems determined to disown its very lifeline its students. In recent months, decisions were taken by the administration which not only disrupted daily life on campus but have also uncovered the sheer arrogance and disregard with which student are treated.
For decades, the main gate of the university stood as a proud symbol of accessibility and tradition. It was more than just an entrance; it was part of the institution’s identity. Today, that entrance gate stands locked and abandoned, with students forced to reroute their journeys, wasting there time and energy. Blocking the gate may appear to the administration as a matter of policy, but for thousands of students, it represents a deliberate act of hostility against their very presence.
As if this was not enough, the University has gone further to make life unbearable inside the campus. The ban on rickshaws has crippled mobility for students who must walk long distances under scorching heat or pouring rain. Public transport inside the university is either non-existent or severely limited. Female students, those with health issues, and others from far-off departments are left stranded daily, their only crime being that they chose to study at Peshawar’s oldest and supposedly most prestigious institution.
But the insult does not stop at transportation. In a world where academic resources, research databases, and even basic communication depend on verified student accounts and official emails, the University of Peshawar is determined NOT to provide official educational emails to its undergraduate students. That is not a luxury it is a right. From Karachi to Lahore, Islamabad to Abbottabad, universities across Pakistan issue .edu.pk emails to their students, ensuring access to digital libraries, discounted software, and international academic portals. Yet here, the students are denied this basic facility. When a courageous student dared to ask about it, the Director of Administration, Mr. Badshah Muneer, reportedly scoffed, “What greatness would you achieve with an educational email?”
This sarcastic remark of the university officials is not just insulting it reflects the rotten mindset at the heart of the university’s governance. Instead of empowering students, the administration chooses to belittle their ambitions. Instead of facilitating learning, they are creating barriers. Instead of serving education, they serves egos.
The University of Peshawar administration must be reminded: universities do not exist for administrators, directors, or gatekeepers they exist for students. Blocking gates, banning transport, and withholding academic resources are not policies; they are acts of sabotage against the future of Pakistan. If this is how a flagship public university in Pakistan treats its students, what message does it send to the rest of the world about our priorities in education?
The University of Peshawar must reverse there anti-student policies immediately. Reopen the gate. Lift the rickshaw ban. Provide educational emails. And above all, treat students with the respect they deserve. Anything less is an admission that the administration is not fit to run an institution of learning, but only a fortress of arrogance.
