KUTS offended by HEC chairman’s behaviour, policies

Faculty forum passes resolution demanding Mukhtar Ahmed accept decisions
of KU’s statutory bodies, end discrimination against varsity and its teachers

The Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) on Wednesday registered their protest against the Higher Education Commission (HEC) chief Mukhtar Ahmed’s ‘derogatory’ behaviour and controversial policies.

The KUTS claimed that the HEC head has on various occasions threatened to cut KU’s funding off, and warned him of consequences if he continued with this attitude.

The KUTS had called a general body meeting at the varsity’s Arts Auditorium; it was presided over by the KUTS President Dr Shakeel Farooqui.

Speaking of his recent visit to KU where he attended the meeting of the varsity’s Syndicate, Farooqui observed that the HEC chairman overlooked rules and regulations of the varsity’s statutory bodies to get his desired result.

A resolution demanding Ahmed to accept decisions of KU’s statutory bodies and give up his aggressive and discriminatory behaviour against the campus and its teachers was also passed at the meeting.

“He attended the meeting and also addressed the teachers, but he kept taunting teachers during as well as after the session.”  

The teachers’ association also demanded that the HEC recognise its system of admission to the M.Phil leading to PhD programme as the system was acceptable throughout the world.

Displeasure of HEC’s rapid changed in policies was also expressed at the meeting. The teachers claimed that the higher education body was adopting strategies in contradiction with its own policies.

The KUTS observed that the HEC decided to not let PhD teachers supervise research students for three years after completing their PhD.

The teachers’ association was also sceptical of the chairman over his educational credentials which were apparently disputed.

The HEC was also criticised for winding up two and three years undergraduate and one and two years masters programme.

KUTS claimed that it had welcomed the chairman despite a history of his rude behaviour and anti-education policies. “We thought we would jointly come up with a plan to resolve the campus’s issues including its financial crisis,” the KUTS president said.

The teachers’ body also asked the varsity’s statutory bodies to make their own decisions and not come under any kind of pressure.

“The KU teachers are strictly against plagiarism and would not tolerate it in any conditions. However, they clarified that KU statutory bodies would not accept any dictation and would not accept any fabricated report and would not implement it at all.”

The KU teachers also expressed solidarity with protesting teachers of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology who were reportedly beaten up by security guards during a protest against the university’s vice chancellor.  They demanded that the President Pakistan initiate an independent inquiry in this regard.