Launching of survey on students' politics today

ISLAMABAD - A consultative meeting on Women leadership in Campuses and report launching of "National Survey on Student Politics, 2008" would be held today (Tuesday) on the occasion of International Youth Day. The objective of the meeting is to support peace building and women leadership in Pakistani universities and to present and thrash out model rules and code of conduct for student politics and unions. The policy and structures for student unions at campuses would also be discussed in the meeting. Vice Chancellor, University of Balochistan Dr Masoom Khan Yasinzai, VC Gomal University Professor Mohammad Fareed Khan, Dr Ghazala Irfan of LUMS, DG University of Punjab, Gujranwala Campus Dr Ehsan Malik, Leader Jamaat-e-Islami Liaqat Baloch would share their experiences on the occasion. According to a recent national survey on student politics, a vast majority of university students (63.6 percent) want reserved quota for girls in student unions, while 34.4 percent students oppose allocation of such quota. The survey has been published by BARGAD a national youth forum based in Gujranwala and draws on research collected in the National Survey on Student Politics, 2008 - a nationally representative survey that scientifically gathered a sample size opinion of 5 percent students from all 23 public universities of Pakistan, which impart general education. About 909 students of Pakistani universities responded to the survey. It is the largest ever-consultative study on student politics in the country. Iqbal Haider Butt is author of the national survey report. The national survey says that more than 6 out of every ten students (61.2 percent) in the public universities are not favour of student politics. However, almost seventy percent (68.9%) students welcome the lifting of ban on student unions. Majority of students are unaware of the situation of student politics before union ban in 1984. A total of 62.6 percent students indicated they had no opinion on pre-ban student politics. Only a fraction (1.8%) possesses highly positive opinion of such politics, with female respondents were almost none (.1%). Analyzing the national survey results, the author says the students do not oppose politics per se, rather are wary of dominant campus politics and its violent past. According to other key results of the national survey, the students believe that students should not take part in national politics and political movements either in individual or collective capacity. 42.2% and 49.8% students respectively support such participation.

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