KARACHI, Feb 18: The situation at the Shaikh Zayed Islamic Research Centre and Karachi University remained tense on Monday as students protested the alleged exploitation of a girl student at the hands of a teacher.
While the KU teachers’ body, at an emergency meeting, decided the course of action and condemned the violent activities of some students, the KU administration decided that a high-level committee would look into the allegation against the SZIRC teacher.
A KU spokesman told Dawn that the vice- chancellor, being the chairman of the board of governors of SZIRC, had ordered the formation of an inquiry committee which would comprise officials from outside the university. The KU vice-chancellor had also directed the SZIRC teacher, Ahmed Bari, to go on leave till the completion of the inquiry.
Students at SZIRC stayed away from classes in protest against the decision of the administration to withdraw the teacher’s suspension order. A senior SZIRC teacher told Dawn that the students were demanding that the teacher be suspended and a high-level inquiry committee be formed to look into the “irresponsible attitude of the teacher towards the girl student”.
Speaking to Dawn, the SZIRC director, Dr Fazal Ahmed, said: “Students did not turn up to take their classes. They chanted slogans and registered their protest. However, no untoward occurrences were reported.”
When contacted, the SZIRC teacher, Ahmed Bari, disclosed that a few students of SZIRC, along with some outsiders, had misbehaved themselves. “On two occasions on Monday, the students, accompanied by the outsiders, roughed me up.” The teacher added that he had reported the attack to the director of the centre at around 4pm.
Answering a question, Mr Bari said that he was terrified as the group of students had threatened him of dire consequences if he did not leave the campus at once.
“My behaviour with my students has always been right and I doubt that the girl student is being exploited by vested interests,” he observed.
Sources on the campus told Dawn that students blamed the KU vice-chancellor for withdrawing the teacher’s suspension order. A group of students, including some girl students, had called on the KU vice-chancellor and informed him about the sentiments of the students, urging him to terminate the services of the SZIRC teacher.
Students also put up banners at different places on the campus, deploring the entire episode and demanding a transparent inquiry.
