Teachers disturbing academic activities to face action, warns acting Fuuast VC

The acting vice chancellor of Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast), Prof Dr Syed Altaf Hussain, has rejected the allegations of malpractices and financial irregularities in the university made by varsity teachers at their Wednesday’s presser at the Karachi Press Club.

The acting VC, on the other hand, claimed that “a few faculty members, who are also engaged with the Higher Education Commission [HEC] of Pakistan in research projects under the Tenure Track System [TTS], are trying to occupy key positions in the varsity.” “But as per the HEC rules, teachers cannot be appointed on administrative posts who are engaged in research projects under TTS,” he said while addressing a press conference in his office on Thursday.

The VC added that the faculty members had only spread false allegations against Fuuast Senate deputy chair Javid Ashraf at their Wednesday’s press conference. “Javid Ashraf has been appointed for three by the varsity’s highest authority, the president of Pakistan,” he said.

Dr Hussain went on saying that the protesting teachers had, in fact, disturbed academic activities. “But it will be not be further tolerated as the provision of quality education to the students is the first and foremost priority,” he asserted.

The acting VC said that he had served the Allama Iqbal Opern University (AIOU) for almost five years. “The AIOU is one of the best distance education institutions in the world,” he claimed.

“Institutions face financial constraints, administrative chaos and many other crisis but these issues can be resolved if the teachers and the administration work together,” he said. The acting VC, however, warned the faculty members that if he found teachers involved in “the anti-administration activities they will face departmental action”.

“As a vice chancellor, I will not accept any pressure therefore I would advise the protesting teachers to take classes and work for the betterment of students,” he concluded. At a press conference on Wednesday, Fuuast teachers had requested the chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of the crisis and malpractices in the university.

They maintained that the auditor general’s report had found serious financial irregularities in the university’s funds allocated for scholarship grants for deserving students. They maintained that the country's president, also the varsity chancellor, had appointed “the most incompetent deputy chair senate in varsity who lacks the capacity to resolve the basic problems”.

They had also blamed the Fuuast Senate deputy chair was consuming all his energies to restore the former acting vice chancellor, Sulaiman D Muhammad, despite the ex-VC being removed “after plagiarism charges against him in his thesis for acquiring the PhD degree from the Karachi University”.

The tussle between educators and the administration had intensified on Monday when university teachers were baton-charged during a protest held at the varsity’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal campus and 20 of them were detained. The detained teachers were, however, released after negotiations were held at the District East deputy commissioner’s office.