Karachi: Fculty-members of the University of Karachi, the largest university in the provincial capital, are boycotting academic activities on campus, including classes and examinations, for an indefinite period as part of their protest drive mainly against ‘undue’ delay in granting them promotions in service.
The KU’s faculty members have been boycotting the academic activities in both the morning and evening sessions since last week.
The cancellation at the eleventh hour of the meeting of a selection board, which was convened on the directives of Sindh High Court to promote a senior KU teacher to the next grade, perturbed the concerned faculty-members and their representative body - the Karachi University Teachers’ Society (KUTS) - decided to boycott the classes.
The KUTS, while convening a general body meeting of the teachers concerned, has demanded that the Sindh Chief Minister should immediately remove from his post the provincial government’s Secretary for universities and exam boards while deeming that he was responsible for the cancellation of the selection board’s meeting.
The faculty-members urged the CM to appoint a senior government servant as the in-charge secretary for the universities who had a thorough understanding of the University Act.
KUTS demanded the meetings of the selection board for the teaching posts of the university, whose advertisements had been published three years back, should be convened in three months. Some 500 prospective teachers have applied for these posts.
It also demanded that the emoluments of the KU’s teachers, related to the evening programme of the university, whose payment has been due for the past one-and-half years, should be paid in the next 10 days.
KUTS Secretary, Dr Mohsin Ali, lamented that much harm was being done to the academic and administrative affairs on the campus.
He said the provincial government should duly honour and recognise the autonomous status of the universities and shouldn’t unduly interfere in their affairs.
