Karachi, Feb 11: The deployment of Rangers at public sector universities has become a debatable issue among the teaching staff, students and external candidates, who regularly visit government-run institutions and find the Rangers personnel "uncooperative".

Rangers personnel were deputed at the public sector universities to tackle criminal activities and maintain law and order on the campuses after the student wings of various political parties kept clashing with their rival groups, causing frequent disruptions of academic activities.

Such a situation had badly affected classes, examination schedules and office work at the University of Karachi (KU) as well as at the Dawood College of Engineering and Technology, and Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology.

However, the Nadirshaw Eduljee Dinshaw (NED) University of Engineering and Technology managed to maintain academic atmosphere owing to the strong stance by its administration, thus enabling the students to complete their terms on time.

A senior professor at the KU Science Faculty says that if the university administration issues clear directions to the law enforcement agency then they would be bound to take action against the culprits found responsible for disrupting academic environment. "I personally feel that KU administration itself is unclear about what strategy needs to be adopted to handle the situation arising out of clashes between student groups."

He says that the Rangers are supposed to remain alert all the time and ensure law enforcement at the campus. "But, unfortunately, the Rangers are not performing their duty as they are required to. The Rangers are also deployed at the NED University but one could not object to their performance there, which implies that it is the difference in administrative skills and approach that generates the desired result," he added.

Similarly, a senior professor at the KU Faculty of Arts, who wished anonymity, pointed out that Rangers had seldom taken action on time. "They (the Rangers personnel) are not seen when trouble erupts at the campus." Recently, when some angry candidates, seeking admission, and their supporters created mayhem at various departments, tore apart the answer sheets of students taking up exams and threw them out of the examination halls, the Rangers where nowhere to stop these ruffians, he said, adding that such inaction by the personnel rather encouraged the rowdy elements who later broke open the locks of the Administration Block and entered there as like the vandals entering Rome.

Apart from this scenario, some first year students told this scribe that they were not yet issued KU identity cards due to which they had to face extreme hardships in entering the campus.

"It is up to the Rangers personnel and the KU security staff, a bunch of untrained, crude and ill-mannered staff, to allow or stop such students," commented a student. "We often miss morning classes for not being allowed to enter campus, however, we have approached our chairpersons to rescue us from this situation. We are still waiting for the results but it seems that our hardships are not going to end during the transition period of the incumbent vice chancellor."

When contacted, Deputy Superintendent Rangers Tariq said: "May be you cannot see what we have done". However, when he was asked to elaborate, he offered no comments, saying: "Talk to the KU administration". Similarly, Senior Security Officer, KU, Iftikhar Alam asked this scribe to talk to public relations officer since it was a policy matter.