DERA GHAZI KHAN-The protest of tribal area students entered fifth day demanding the allotment of 10 tribal area seats in Ghazi Khan Medical College (GKMC) Dera Ghazi Khan.
On February 14, they set set up the protest camp in front of the main gate of the university but the government has appeared so far stubborn and did not respond to the protesters who are demanding the allotment of 10 tribal area seats in GKMC DG Khan.
Talking to The Nation, Balak Sher, one of protesters, said that tribal area which is 6,475 square kilometre in Dera Ghazi Khan was being ignored by the administration and the Baloch tribal chiefs. The tribal residents have been deprived of their basic rights like education and healthcare, he said.
Though there are 14 civil dispensaries, 08 basic health units, 01 rural health centre, 01 Civil Hospital but the people are still deprived of healthcare because of non-availability of medicines and doctors.
He added that about 80 percent of poor students got cut out from education and became shepherd in tribal area. Hardly 10 percent out of the remaining 20 percent poor students got first division in FSc Pre-Medical or FSC Pre-Engineering examinations due to lack of educational facilities, he said.
Azhar Baloch, another protester, said, "It is clearly impossible for the tribal area students to compete or beat a student of Atchison College or urban colleges in order to get admission in the medical colleges. Therefore 10 tribal area seats be allotted in GKMC DG Khan, like three seats for tribal area in Nishtar Medical University (NMU) Multan, two in Sheikh Zayed Medical College (SZMC) Rahim Yar Khan and one seat in Nishtar Institute of Dentistry (NID) Multan, he demanded.
He pointed out that two applications through Commissioner DG Khan Division office vide letter No GB-214-210/6353 dated 22 May 2014 and GB-214/2010/86 dated 25 July 2014 are still undecided in the office of secretaryspecialized healthcare and medical education, Lahore.
The protester also demanded Government of Punjab review the clause No 6 of "Rule and Regulation for Underdeveloped District "of University of Health Sciences Lahore (UHS).