Chandigarh:In Chandigarh there are nearly 390 foreign students from the various developing countries such as Iran, Yamen, Sudan, Iraq, Zambia, Afghanistan, Nepal, Thailand and Tibet. The number of foreign students on the campus is nearly 100, and most of them are enrolled as research scholars doing PhD or M.Phil under the cultural exchange programme, told Prof. Shelley Walia, Dean, Foreign Students.
On the 44th day of the chain fast on the campus for central university status for P.U. a large number of foreign students participated in the ongoing protest and nine of them, Hamid Raza Fatimi Pour, Md. Mehdi Pasandideh, Maryam Farhdi, Akram Hashem, Bawman Yasbolaghi, Yahya Kord Tamandan all from Iran and M. Abhu Mohhmmed, Gibreal Sadeq Suleman, and Abdul Malik Saif Saeed Thabet all the three from Yamen sat on the fast for the day. Besides foreign students two teachers, T.R. Bharadwaj, Karan Vashist, and three research scholars, Raj Kumar, Bala Kumar and B. Lakshmi Narayan from the UIPS and one, Abha Sharma from the department of Education also sat on the fast.
Md Mehdi Pasandideh, President of the International Students on the campus said that a large number of students like to study in Chandigarh as Panjab University is rated very high in the above mentioned countries, particularly in Iran. If it is elevated to central university the liberal grants from the Centre can provide much better infrastructure to the foreign students and many more would like to choose Chandigarh as their destination for higher education. Esmail Hadidi, another research scholar from Iran not only supported central status for P.U. but also wished it to be an eminent university for whole of Asia due to its heritage, quality of education and geographical location.
The University Institute of Pharmaceutical Studies (UIPS) is number one in the whole country, said Prof T.R. Bharadwaj from the site of the Dharna. It is the only department in the country with funding for Advanced Research. Many medicines have been patented on the basis of the research from the department. But the buildings are leaking, labs are waiting for up gradation and repair for want of sufficient funds, rued Prof. Bharadwaj.