KU students suffer as teachers continue boycott of classes

The Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) and the Sindh universities and boards department’s secretary have been at loggerheads over the selection board for the appointment of professors in three departments of the varsity.

To protest against the secretary’s decision to declare the selection board null and void, the teachers’ body boycotted classes at the varsity for the fifth consecutive day on Friday. The secretary, meanwhile, insists that the varsity should furnish rules of appointment and get permission from the government for the constitution of the selection board.

On January 31, the KUTS observed black day at the varsity and has been boycotting the classes since then. On February 3, the teachers’ body convened its general meeting in the Arts Auditorium and announcing that the boycott would continue indefinitely as the secretary’s attitude was not acceptable.

KUTS stance

In the general meeting, office holders of the KUTS expressed that the selection board for the appointment of Dr Zafar Iqbal Shams in the environment department, which was summoned on the orders of the Sindh High Court, was cancelled by the universities and boards department in clear violation of court orders.

The body announced that the boycott of teaching activities would continue till the selection board was convened. The KUTS also demanded that the Sindh chief minister replace the incumbent universities and boards secretary with a competent bureaucrat who knew the University Act.

The meeting urged the administration of the varsity to complete the process of the selection board within three months, and conclude within 15 days the process of scrutiny of applicants who had applied for selection under a 2019 advertisement.

KUTS President Prof Dr Shah Ali Ul Qader told The News that the secretary had zero knowledge of the varsities.

He added that the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association’s (Fapuasa) Sindh chapter had convened a meeting on February 8 to discuss the issue of selection boards for the public sector universities in the province. “We might extend our protest to other universities of Sindh if our demands are not fulfilled.”

He clarified that the KU was not promoting teachers through the selection board. “When the varsities advertise any post in newspapers, it means they call applicants from outside and inside to ensure merit. This selection board was formed for three departments under the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan’s rules.”

The selection board was constituted by the KU for the environmental science department under an advertisement published in 2019 and for the food science and zoology departments under a 2014 advertisement.

Fapuasa in its press statement condemned the recent decisions of the universities and boards department, terming them against the spirit of universities’ autonomy and higher education. “The association stands beside the KUTS and urges the Sindh government and the universities and boards department not to interfere in matters outside its jurisdiction,” the statement read.

The secretary’s response

When The News contacted Sindh Universities and Board Secretary Mureed Rahimo for his comments on the matter, he said the KU wanted to summon the selection board under an advertisement that was published in 2014.

There should be a deadline for the constitution of selection board after an advertisement has been published, the secretary said as he asked how the varsity could do selection on the basis of an ad that appeared around a decade earlier.

Rahimo maintained that the validity of such advertisements expired after six months as per the University Act. However, he did not mention the specific clause of the law which states this. “I simply say the advertisement for the selection board must be re-published so that outsider applicants could participate in the selection process, and we could ensure merit. Secondly, the varsity should seek prior permission from the government before constituting a selection board,” the secretary said,

On February 1, the universities and boards department issued a circular which stated that the secretary was concerned over violation of rules for appointments at varsities. “The method of appointment has not been followed by the universities, the potential candidates from the market are ignored, no healthy competition has been ensured,” the circular read.

The circular also directed the heads of the universities to frame draft service rules in two weeks so that the same may be placed before a competent forum for final approval.

Academic loss

It is the students who are being affected the most in the ongoing controversy. When the government enforced lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak, all the universities announced that they would shift to online classes but none of the public sector varsities delivered as per the official guidelines, resulting in academic loss of their students.

After the classes at KU resumed, this academic boycott has again inconvenienced the students who are coming to attend classes but find their teachers absent. When The News asked the KUTS president and the universities and boards secretary who was responsible for the academic loss of the students, they blamed each other.

During the five days, several KU departments have also cancelled examinations. According to students, no one in the varsity seems to be concerned about their academic loss. The secretariat of the vice chancellor is also not playing any role in this regard as its staff is busy in other matters following the recent Sindh High Court’s order for the removal of Acting VC Dr Khalid Iraqi, a student said.

Another student lamented that other bodies of the varsity were also not willing to address their concerns because they were also led by teachers on strike.