University teachers demand lifting of ban on appointments

PESHAWAR: Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) and Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) have expressed serious concern over the four-year long ban on promotions and appointments in the University of Peshawar and urged the quarters concerned to immediately lift the ban and overcome the growing unrest among the teaching fraternity.

PUTA President Dr Fazle Nasir submitted a letter to the Governor Khyber Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman Khan, who also serves as chancellor of public sector universities. Dr Fazle Nasir said that the prolonged ban on recruitment and promotion in the public sector universities was interference in the universities.

President FAPUASA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter Dr Sartaj Alam Kakakhel said that the promotion of hundreds of teaching faculty has been halted for the last two years due to the unnecessary interference of government in the administrative affairs of University of Peshawar.

He said the University of Peshawar advertised 76 positions in different teaching cadres including lecturers, assistant professor, associate professor and professors in 2018.

However, the appointments against those positions are still pending due to the multiple bans on appointments imposed by the provincial government.

He said the provincial government has imposed ban on appointments within the University of Peshawar four times based on a plea that university is facing financial crisis. He said the government is naive because the posts in 2018 were advertised against the vacant budgeted posts, the budgets for which is already reflected in the annual budget of university, duly approved by senate, which is convened by the governor himself.

He added that universities are not earning centres, rather these are teaching/learning institutes, therefore, the government should stop using the narrative of financial crisis for universities and they should extend financial help instead.

He said that instead of funding, the KP government is constantly interfering into the autonomy of universities by violating their own Universities’ Act. He said FAPUASA would never tolerate the illegal interference and violation of Universities Act.

He said the government has illegally barred the vice chancellor from making appointments at the University of Peshawar because he has entered in the phase of last six months of his tenure, for which there is no provision in University Act 2012 amended 2016.

He demanded the government to lift the ban immediately on the advertised positions of 2018 so that the teachers get their due right. Failing to do so will compel FAPUASA to give a protest call to the teaching community of universities in the prevailing pandemic situation and the government would be responsible for consequences, he said.