Islamabad : The Academic Staff Association of COMSATS University Islamabad (ASA-CUI) observed 9th December as protest day across seven campuses of the university under the slogan ‘SAVE CUI.’
Rallies and protest demonstrations were arranged where a large number of employees participated and reiterated their legitimate demands. The employees showed serious resentment over the conduct of CUI higher management that has failed to honour a written agreement signed between the interim rector and ASA-CUI in June 2019.
Despite promulgation of CUI Act in April 2018, the statutory forums of the university and service structure of the employees are yet to be completed. The university is being run by an ad-hoc setup since three years where the rector, registrar, director campuses and deans are holding acting charges. The current adhoc management has and deliberately hindered and delayed implementation of the following as per the Act just to prolong its interim period : the processes for the completion of statutory bodies, approval of service structure for employees, approval of minutes of 2nd CUI Senate meeting, conduct of selection boards, advertisements for faculty positions of all cadres, reinstatement of unlawfully terminated employees, appointment of permanent Rector.
The ASA-CUI has also appealed to the Federal Minister for Science & Technology that as the current interim Rector is a candidate for permanent rectorship, for the sake of transparency and fairness, he should relinquish his charge and a neutral person be appointed acting rector.
Forensic, financial and administrative audit of CUI since its inception was promised but never conducted. On the other hand, qualified and resourceful faculty is quitting the university just because of mismanagement and bad governance of the ad-hoc management of CUI. In short, the CUI management has failed to keep its promises for the betterment of the academic and administrative affairs.
ASA-CUI has long been pursuing its demands with the university management, but higher authorities seem unmoved and are not ready to accede to legitimate demands of the teaching community
The current protest is a step towards inviting the government to review CUI affairs, which has affected the academic life at campuses very badly. ASA-CUI appealed to the high-ups including President of Pakistan, Prime Minister of Pakistan and Federal Minister for Science and Technology, not to leave this international-standard seat of education to incompetent people who have destroyed this institution at every administrative level. ASA-CUI further declares that protest will continue until its demands are met and has declared today, 10th December as a Black Day.