Tensions boiled over in Ghizer as students from Girls Middle School staged a protest, disrupting normalcy by blocking Ghizer Road near Basin Khari Park. The demonstration, fueled by an acute shortage of teachers and frequent student transfers, has paralyzed daily activities.
The students, facing the brunt of an inadequate education system, are demanding fundamental improvements. However, their frustration resonates with the local community, which is now echoing discontent against the occupied government of Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (POGB).
Critics are pointing fingers at the authorities for their failure to address basic educational needs. The sentiment on the ground is that if the government cannot provide a basic education system, expectations for significant improvements seem increasingly unrealistic.
This protest adds to a growing list of student demonstrations in the region. Previously, students at Karakoram International University protested against insufficient facilities and arbitrary fee hikes. The latest unrest exposes the paradox of the occupying government unable to meet essential educational requirements while burdening students with soaring fees.
This clearly is the result of about 77 years of coloniality that people of POGB are subjugated to. While they and their resources are being exploited by Pakistan on a daily basis, they get no royalty or compensation. To the worse, they dont even have a constitutional right to make their voice heard in Islamabad.