Taif University claimed Monday that its refusal to pay heed to recommendations for admission was the reason why “400 girl applicants who scored low marks,” staged a chaotic sit-in protest here. “There is no place for intercession (Wasta) or favoritism,” said Abdul Ilah Banajeh, the university's president, about Monday's protest. “We did justice by not accepting students with low marks at the expense of outstanding students.” He said 12,000 out of 30,000 applicants were given admission; of these, 10,000 were full-time students, male and female. The university had to call the police after its security staff failed to disperse the protesters at the campus gates, Banajeh said. “These girls did not meet the admission criteria but they were there at the gates from 6.00 AM.,” he said. “They prevented the women employees from entering the university. They created chaos. They disrupted the admissions process.” In all, there were 400 girls in the protest, Banajeh said. Many guardians of the girls also joined the sit-in. According to witnesses, Red Crescent staff at the scene gave medical aid to one girl's female guardian who was injured in a scuffle with the university's female security staff. President's challenge The president said he had rejected “with all firmness” recommendations from government officials and other prominent people. “We have not accepted any boy or girl student who doesn't fulfill the admission criteria.,” he said. “I challenge anyone who can prove otherwise,” he said. There was also no chance of corruption by admissions staff going undetected, Banajeh said. ‘I receive a report every two hours on my computer on the number of students who have been accepted, their grades and names and those whose applications have been rejected,” he said. “Moreover, the electronic system will not accept those having lower than the minimum marks required.” Banajeh said that. as an added precaution. he has been holding a regular meeting at the end of the work day to review admissions granted and verify marks scored. The president said the protesting girls – school graduates – were also at fault for applying for specializations like medicine and medical sciences which require high marks. “The problem is that the girl students refuse to apply for the specializations in the diploma program – which is what the labor market needs,” Banajeh said. “They want to be full-time students despite not meeting the conditions.” “And when we refused, the campaigns for distorting the facts and allegations of Wasta started,” he said. He said the girls still have a chance to join courses in computers, marketing and secretarial work. “There are seats available in the diploma and other programs where the number of applicants is less than the available capacity.”
