MARDAN: Writers, poets and members of literary organisations have opposed the decision of the administration of University of Peshawar (UoP) to merge Pashto Academy with Pashto department owing to financial constraints.
They have demanded of the provincial government and administration of UoP to revise the decision and keep intact the status of Pashto Academy so that it can serve its basic purpose, according to a press release.
It said that a meeting of Fanoos Publishing Centre and Torialay Pashto Literary Jirga was held here to deliberate on the current status of Pashto Academy its historical significance and the proposal to merge it with Pashto department.The meeting adopted a unanimous resolution to condemn the decision of UoP administration.
The participants of the meeting said Pashto Academy was established in 1955 with the aim of creating a permanent centre for scholarship and research.
They said that it was dedicated to study, promotion, compilation and publication of Pashto language and literature, as well as the preservation of its intellectual andculturalheritage.
They said that over the past sev-eral decades, the institution played a pivotal role in promoting Pashto language. ‘Pashto Academy is not merely an administrative or academic unit; it represents a historic legacy of scholarship and research in the realm of Pashto language and literature, they added.
They regretted that in recent years, Pashto Academy deviated from its core research and publication responsibilities to launch MPhil and PhD degree programmes -like a standard academic teaching department -which did not align with its fundamental nature and historical purpose.
There should be a clear distinction between the scope of the academy and that of a university teaching department, they said.
They said that formal degree programmes such as MPhil and PhD fell within the purview of the university’s relevant academic department, whereas the academy’s primary role should centre on research, editing, publication, lexicography, preservation of manuscripts and rare scholarly materials and promotion of language andliterature.
‘We demand that Pashto Academy’s original and historical status should be restored rather than operating it like a teaching department. The MPhil and PhD academic programmes introduced there should be either discontinued or transferred to the relevant university department through appropriate legal and administrative procedures, enabling the academy to fulfill its core functions of research, literature, schol-arship and publication with undivided focus,’ they said.
The participants of the meeting also expressed reservations over the fact that lack of funds was being cited as a justification for merging Pashto Academy into Pashto department.
‘Financial issues cannot justify erasing the identity of a historic and research-oriented institution.
If the academy is facing a financial crisis, the solution is not to abolish or merge it, rather to provide it with adequate and sustainable financial resources,’ they added.
They said that the decision to merge Pashto Academy into Pashto department should be immediately withdrawn. They said that the separate, independent and historic institutional status of Pashto Academy should be restored.
They said that the academy’s library, research collections, publications, manuscripts, documents and other academic and cultural assets should be protected and should not be dispersed or handed over to irrelevant institutions under any circumstances.
The participants of the meeting said that a permanent and adequate financial budget should be allocated for the academy and financial crisis should not be allowed to cause termination of its institutional existence.
They said that prominent Pashto writers, researchers, intellectuals, educators and literary organisations should be taken into confidence regarding decisions concerning the academy’s future and administrative structure.