Unfulfilled demands: Protesting university employees threaten to disrupt BRT service

PESHAWAR: The protest drive by the academic staff and administrative officers of the Agriculture University Peshawar continued on Wednesday and the protesters threatened to take to streets and block Jamrud Road and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to press the government and the university administration to accept their demands.

The provincial government and the university administration on the other hand have turned a deaf ear to the protest campaign, which has been going on for the past three weeks.

On Thursday, leaders of the teachers’ representative bodies from other universities also visited the protest camp of the university employees and assured them full support in their struggle.

Prominent among those who visited the protest camp were provincial president of Federation of All Pakistan Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) Dr Sartaj Alam, president Peshawar University Teachers Association Dr Fazle Nasir, president Engineering University Teachers Association Dr Feroz Shah and President Teaching Staff Association of Islamia College Peshawar Dr Dilnawaz Khan.

President Agriculture University Teachers Association Dr Shah Alam and President Agriculture University Officer Association Ihsan Khan addressed the participants of the protest camp.

They criticized the university administration for what they called its failure to overcome the problems of the university.

They said that academic and managerial activities in the university have been suspended for the last three weeks, but the government and the university administration were taking no notice of the situation.

Dr Shah Alam said that the vice-chancellor of the university Dr Jehan Bakht was holding the charge of three different institutions and was unable to give proper time to his own university.

He is currently holding the additional charge of Islamia College University and in-charge of Agriculture University Swat, they said.

He also leveled some serious allegations against the vice-chancellor. He asked the governor to constitute a committee for the verification of the Curriculum Vitae (CV) of Dr Jehan Bakht. He alleged that all the claims made by the vice-chancellor in his CV regarding his qualifications, experience and research were bogus and fabricated.

He said that till completion of the inquiry, he should be removed from all the positions he was holding right now. He said that the books mentioned by the vice-chancellor in his CV have been rejected by the Higher Education Commission. He alleged that the vice-chancellor has spoken lies about his qualifications, research papers, research projects and number of PhDs he has produced. If inquired properly all the fabrication he has made would be exposed, he said.

Meanwhile, the university administration issued a press release asking the protesting employees to end their protest and return to their classes. The press release stated that a group of teachers have started a boycott of classes and exams, disrupting the peaceful academic environment of the university. The academic and research activities have suffered due to the boycott.

It was claimed that the vice-chancellor had already accepted the demands of the faculty regarding convening of the selection board meeting. It said that the eligibility process of candidates had been completed and the documents of candidates dispatched for evaluation to other universities.