The University of Swat recently hit the headlines, when news of an internal notice issued to students, regarding a ban and penalty on the mingling of male and female students, made its way to the social media.

The issue began when an unidentified student shared a picture of the notice issued by the chief proctor on a Facebook page used by the students of the University of Swat. Some news channels quickly broadcast the news with catchy ‘breaking news’ headlines.

Feeling the intensity of the unwanted media coverage, the university administration was quick to deny the official status of the notice.

The university spokesman, Aftab Ahmad, clarified that a notice holds no value unless approved by the vice chancellor or the registrar. "Only the registrar is authorised to issue such notification after the approval of the vice chancellor. Unfortunately, our chief proctor issued the notification without the approval of the vice chancellor or the registrar," Aftab Ahmad added.

Established in July 2010, the University of Swat started its first session in October with seven departments. Dr Muhammad Farooq Khan, a moderate Islamic scholar and physician was appointed its first vice chancellor. Sadly, he was shot dead by unknown persons in his clinic in Mardan on October 2, 2010.

Dr Jahan Bakht, a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, is the fourth vice chancellor of the university. He replaced Dr Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan upon his retirement on December 7, 2015.

In an interview with The News on Sunday, Dr Jahan Bakht says the University of Swat has strength of 2,475 students and 130 faculty members out of which 13 teachers are pursuing their PhD in foreign countries. "The female students make up 15 per cent of the total strength. They are comfortably adjusted in the university environment without any trouble with the majority male students," he adds.

The university is set to grow in structure and student strength once construction work on its first building is completed later this year.

Currently, the university is run from a rented administration building in Saidu Sharif, sited two kilometres away from Swat’s main city Mingora. The university has acquired another building on rent in Saidu Sharif to accommodate two departments in it.

The remaining departments, including journalism, cultural heritage, tourism, archaeology, agriculture, law, biotechnology and other science departments are located five kilometres away in four rented buildings at the posh Kanju town on a hill facing the River Swat.

Of these four buildings, two are purpose built, including the Pakistan Telecommunications Corporation Limited (PTCL) facility and a private school that the university has rented for Rs 650,000 per month and is arguably the largest and most suitable structure for education purposes.

Still there is no proper cafeteria at the university premises and students go to a small tuck shop located a couple of hundred metres outside the campus. At the time of my visit to the university, at least three ice-cream sellers had parked their carts in the shade of thick trees, waiting for the occasional buyers. The students were seen wandering outside during the break.

Apparently the triggering factor for the notification that caused so much trouble to the university was the written complaints made by the residents from the nearby houses.

Students often walked or sat together near their houses during the break and after the university hours. Some parents in the vicinity felt that their young children would get a negative message from such mixing of male and female students.

A local resident Zahirullah says that many locals feared the mingling of students outside might invite the wrath of extremist minded people. "Kanju was a Taliban hub when the Maulana Fazalullah-led TTP challenged the writ of the state in the region. They still have sympathisers, who are opposed to female education and the socialising of the two sexes," he adds.

Talking about the notification in question, the university’s provost and in-charge student affairs Dr Fida Hussain says that they had moved to the new premises only a month ago when the issue cropped up. "It was just a physical structure and students had no specified areas other than the lecture rooms to sit after the lectures. A common room for girls was the first facility for females to go to after classes".

The complaints compelled the now ex-chief proctor Hazrat Bilal to issue a notice, without consulting the registrar and the vice chancellor, warning the students against sitting and walking together inside and outside the campus. The notice said that any student violating the ban would face a penalty of up to Rs5,000.

Hazrat Bilal holds a Master of Science degree in Business Management and Accounts from the United Kingdom. He is an Associate Professor at the university. "I issued the notice in the greater interest of students and the university. My intention was to protect them from any unwanted trouble with the locals or those opposed to co-education," he argues.

Hazrat Bilal was removed from the position of chief proctor after the issue got highlighted in the media. The university administration claimed that the decision was taken to relieve him from the pressure he faced due to the hype created by the media.

"Hazrat Bilal has not been removed from the university. He is still teaching here. He requested to be relieved from the chief proctor position as according to him it was affecting his preparations for the PhD degree," explains Dr Hassan Sher, the university registrar, in an effort to put to rest the reports that he has been removed from the university.

Unfortunately for students, the news going viral has already caused much trouble. Syeda Afshan, a Masters student of Zoology, claimed that one of her close friends had been told by her parents to stay away from the university.

"She told me the other day she would not be coming to the university for a few days. Her parents feel it would be unsafe for females to attend classes for some time. I have heard about other girls going through the same situation," says Syeda Afshan, a confident looking student wearing a pink nikkab that fully covered her face.

She isn’t the only girl covering her face. All females present at the campus were dressed with the traditional chaddar and the veil. Amna, a student of Psychology supported the now-void decision by Hazrat Bilal. "It was in our interest and for our protection. We trust our fellow students but no one knows when a hardliner will lose his mind and attack students or the university because these people are against co-education," she says.

Another student Shaukat Ali of Biotechnology department on the other hand supports co-education. He says, "Studying at a co-ed facility gives me confidence. I don’t feel shy studying and socialising with my female classmates. It makes me feel bold".

Nevertheless, the vice chancellor is hopeful that the issue will die out soon and things will get back to normal. "I expect this non-existent issue will be over soon. I hope the journalists will visit us in future to highlight our good work. We have so many plans in the pipeline to show the world what Swat has to offer," he opines.

Dr Jehan Bakht saw a bright future for local and foreign students at the university. "Swat is a historic home of the Gandhara civilisation. I see a future in which students from Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet and other Buddhist nations will come to study history here," he remarks.