• Kuts claims support of students, non-teaching staff
• PSF to hold protest today against ‘corrupt teachers’

KARACHI: Amid silence from the official quarters over students’ academic loss, teachers at Karachi University (KU) went ahead with their planned protest and observed a complete boycott of classes and labs on Tuesday over administration’s prolonged delay in holding selection boards for appointments pending since 2019.

Sources said the attendance of students was thin as the majority of them being aware of the heightened situation on the campus preferred to stay away from the university.

The day, the sources said, also saw the Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) engaged in intensive efforts to get support from other stakeholders on their demands.

“Today, we have launched a consultation process with associations representing non-teaching staff members and student bodies and received a very positive response,” Dr Faizan Naqvi representing Kuts told Dawn, adding that the meetings attracted a large number of teachers, students and other employees.

According to him, the attendees included representatives of the United Officers’ Association, Mulazmeen Ittehad, Voice of Centres, Insaf Pasand Group, Balochistan Student Front, Imamia Students Organisation, Pakhtun Students Council, All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation and Islami Jamiat Talaba.

“They all expressed solidarity with teachers and supported their stance over delayed selection boards and the university’s financial crisis. Representatives of the non-teaching staff members were of the opinion that they should forget conflicts of the past and get united for a larger cause,” Dr Naqvi shared.

Representatives of the teachers’ society would be meeting the city chief of the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeemur Rehman on Wednesday (today) to apprise him of the prevailing situation at KU, he said.

Students’ bodies dismayed over situation

However, representatives of the JI at the KU expressed their dismay over the campus situation which resulted in students’ loss.

“This situation is causing academic and financial loss to students who pay six-month semester fees in advance. We demand that teachers withdraw this boycott and resume their academic activities,” stated Engineer Osama Aqil in a press statement.

He also criticised the government and university administration for failing to address the genuine grievances of teachers and the non-teaching staff.

Expressing resentment over the teachers’ boycott of classes, the Peoples Students Federation (PSF) announced to hold a protest on Wednesday on the campus.

“Teachers are enjoying their time at home while students hailing from far-flung areas have been deprived of their precious academic time. This must end,” said a PSF statement.

The KU teachers have been demanding the start of the appointment process for the posts advertised in 2019. The situation took a serious turn last year when the secretary of universities and boards declared proceedings of the selection boards null and void on grounds that the vice chancellor needed to take prior permission for the process from the provincial government. The demand remained unaddressed the whole year.

Last week, the teachers started a partial boycott of classes, which then turned into a complete suspension of academic and administrative activities this week.

A day earlier, Kuts passed a unanimous resolution threatening the vice chancellor with a movement seeking his resignation if he failed to meet the demands by Friday (Feb 17). The demands now include payment of salaries to the newly-appointed teachers at the mass communication department.

“Teachers believe that the vice chancellor has failed to deliver. It’s not an issue of having authority, but rather an intention in holding the selection boards,” said senior KU teacher Dr Riaz Ahmed.

The vice chancellor, he alleged, had systematically nullified steps taken to pave the way for new appointments and promotions.

While the teachers were united under the banner of Kuts, the sources said, there were several groups operating on the campus representing the non-teaching employees, who had an estimated strength of 3,000-plus members.

Speaking to this reporter on the condition of anonymity, a few representatives expressed their grievances against Kuts and said that it had “used” the non-teaching staff members for their cause in the past.

“But, we believe that it’s time to bury the hatchet and let’s move forward with a common agenda,” he said.

Sharing his opinion on Kuts’ struggle, Dr Muhammad Hasan Auj representing the KU Officers’ Welfare Association said: “We believe that we shouldn’t go to that extent (to demand the vice chancellor’s resignation) as he doesn’t have the authority to make appointments.”

Iftikhar Ahmed of Insaf Group said that it had offered “conditional support” to Kuts.

“We have assured the society of our full support if our pressing issues are made part of teachers’ demands. We hold the director of finance responsible for our woes,” he said, adding that the promotion of 600 to 700 employees had been pending since 2016.

The situation had developed to that extent as the university had stopped holding meetings of the finance committee, he said.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2023