Jacobabad (Khangarh) is a Region with One and Half Million Population is Deprived of a University

Jacobabad (Khangarh) is a Region with One and Half Million Population is Deprived of a University

Report

Balochistan and the Baloch-populated regions are concurrently facing a high literacy crisis. The low literacy level has not emerged as an inherent fate but is the result of deliberate planning and action. Today, Balochistan is facing a very serious challenge in terms of literacy and education levels, not because the indigenous population does not want to be literate, but because they haven’t been given enough educational opportunities and facilities. Such practices are part and parcel of decisions and planning to keep the Baloch away from knowledge, education, and learning.

Khangarh (Jacobabad) is a densely populated region with an approximate population of one and a half million that is deprived of higher educational opportunities. In 2010, a sub-campus of Shah Abdul Latif University was approved, but it remained on paper only, as no physical attempt has been made hitherto. Moreover, a university sub-campus of Mehran University was approved in 2018; notwithstanding, it remained in documents only. As Khangarh is administratively located in Sindh, but is a Baloch-centric region, it faces such a biased attitude.

Besides that, the whole region— including Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, Sohbatpur, Usta Muhammad, and Jhal Magsi— is deprived not only of a university but also of a single sub-campus that may facilitate higher education degrees for the students of the region. Such a populous region must not be ignored in relation to its literacy and education. It highly deserves a proper university in its locations, including Nasirabad, Balochistan and Jacobabad (old Khangarh), Sindh.

The Baloch Literacy Campaign initiated the Higher Education Campaign in 2023 to ensure the establishment of universities in such deprived regions, including Nasirabad, Jaffarabad, Jacobabad, Kohlu, Dera Bugti, and Rakhshan regions. Through BLC, the Baloch Students Action Committee has actively engaged in campaigns, rallies, awareness walks, and press conferences to demand the establishment of setups for higher education.

We still believe that the formation and establishment of universities in these aforementioned regions is crucial for the population. These students, in high numbers, have to leave for other cities to pursue their higher education degrees. Many of them cannot afford the fees and expenses outside their own hometowns. Keeping in view these needs and necessities, the Baloch Literacy Campaign fully acknowledges the campaign demanding a university in Khangarh and other areas.

Baloch Students Action Committee