About 100 students of Social Sciences Department of Kabul University are on hunger strike for the last six days. The Afghan government has failed to respond positively to their demands hitherto, although representatives of civil society, human rights, social media and politic activists, a number of members of national assembly, poets and intellectuals from various field of life have strongly supported them.
Over the past days, these students have bravely and courageously tolerated hunger and thirst in addition to extremely hot and dusty weather. It was heavily raining in Kabul on the sixth day of their hunger strike. All these have failed to deter these students from their fight for what is their basic right.
The demands of the protesting students are clear and simple. They demand removal of Head of Social Science Department who they accuse of being highly biased. Additionally, certain teachers of the department behave rudely only to students from a particular ethnic group. Such teachers have deliberately and unfairly cut the examination marks of almost all the protesting students. Additionally an environment marred with prejudice and discrimination is prevailing in a number of departments of Kabul University. The students demand the government to adopt measure to counter bias in Kabul University to let the students nurture in a healthy educational environment.
Although six days of the hunger strike have past, the government has been reluctant to respond to the demands of the students. It seems like maintaining a biased official as head of Social Sciences Department of Kabul University has more importance to the Palace and Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) than lives of 100+ male and female students. Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher Education is on leave to a foreign country. It is unfair for a minister to be so irresponsible. President Hamid Karzai should have called the said minister to return immediately.
A UN report published in February indicated growth of corruption in education sector of Afghanistan. It says that number of Afghans bribing a teacher jumped from 16 percent in 2009 to 51 percent in 2012. The figure automatically legitimizes existence of nepotism, bribery and other forms of corruption in education sector of the country. Countering this evil in their department is what the students are demanding.
Educating Afghans has been a top priority of international community since the fall of Taliban regime. If there is no positive response to the demands of those on hunger strike, it will result in discouragement of those seeking to get higher education in Afghanistan.
Historically, protests have been violent in Afghanistan. Nonetheless, the current protest of Kabul University students is entirely peaceful harming no body. The reward of being peaceful should not be lack of attention.