HYDERABAD: Sindh Uni­versity (SU) Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Siddique Kalhoro has observed that every new varsity wanted to get affiliated colleges from the SU, but no institution was ready to take responsibility of the employees appointed to those colleges.

He was presiding over a meeting of deans, administrative officers and principals of affiliated colleges of Hyderabad held to discuss different issues, including educational standards, in affiliated colleges on Wednesday.

He said initially 10 people were appointed in the SU examination department and the staff increased subsequently due to increase in the number of colleges and enrolments there. Over 200 employees were working in those departments, he said.

He said those talking about the transfer of colleges affiliated with the SU were not ready to transfer those employees from the university. “Due to non-receipt of grant from the Higher Education Commission, salaries and pensions were not paid even by Aug 3,” he said. “If teachers continue to be transferred from colleges and posted elsewhere these programmes may be affected,” he said. He said teachers should be posted on a permanent basis in colleges to run BS programmes.

He said 80,000 students were enrolled in the SU affiliated colleges of which 30,000 were studying in the colleges of Hyderabad only. But the SU press release did not explain whether 30,000 were studying in Hyderabad district or division. The VC asked what would be left with the SU if the colleges of Hyderabad were given to other university.

He said the university interested in getting colleges of Hyderabad would have to receive 109 employees working for those colleges in the SU.

He said the World Bank gave Rs70bn to the HEC, saying that the degrees of BA, BSc, MA, MSc and MPhil should be abolished and replaced by AD, BS and MS. He said Rs 4.5bn were spent annually on salaries and pensions of 1900 individuals. The VC said that due to increase in salaries and pensions, financial burden upon the university had increased to Rs600m annually while the provincial government increased grant by Rs200m.

Principals of different colleges of Hyderabad, Yaqoob Chandio, Prof Altaf Memon, Haq Nawaz Abbasi, Prof Saeeda Parveen, Syed Sohail A. Tahiri and others said that neither the Government College University (GCU) Hyderabad had permanent faculty members and infrastructure nor academic disciplines to grant affiliation to the colleges.

They said the SU was the oldest university which would not be allowed to be pushed towards financial crisis by assigning the colleges to the GCU.

Deans faculties of Natural Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Education Pharmacy, Islamic Culture, Social Sciences and others were also present. They said that no academic atmosphere and faculties were there in the GCU Hyderabad.

GCU VC

GCU Vice Chancellor Prof Tayyeba Zareef told Dawn that the jurisdiction of GCU Hyderabad was established under The Government College University, Hyderabad Act 2018 which said that the jurisdiction would be notified by the government. “I have approached the Sindh government for notifying the jurisdiction of the GCU Hyderabad and it is up to government to notify the jurisdiction accordingly,” she said.

She added that the university had around 70-member faculty inclusive of 33 PhD scholars and M. Phil scholars. “It is a huge figure for any newly established university,” she said. She added that colleges could only be affiliated with the GCU once its jurisdiction was notified by the government. “We are currently running BS programme on the campus,” she said.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had announced upgradation of the 100-year old Government College Kali Mori Hyderabad as GCU Hyderabad on Oct 9, 2017, to mark its centennial celebrations. The act was passed a year later in 2018.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2022