HYDERABAD, May 15: The All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association, Sindh chapter, at its meeting held in Jamshoro on Wednesday has demanded that the vice chancellor of the Sindh Agriculture University (SAU), Dr Bashir Ahmed Chandio, should be removed immediately and a high-powered committee should be constituted to probe into the “wrong doings” of Dr Chandio.

The meeting took notice of the unrest at the SAU, Tando Jam.

It expressed the opinion that the “autocratic and inhuman attitude” of the VC was responsible for the unrest among the faculty and that due to his attitude, there had been a sharp fall in the number of students.

The meeting also rejected the proposed university ordinance and made it clear that any such document prepared without taking the representatives of teachers into confidence would not be accepted at any cost.

It demanded that a uniform policy should be adopted regarding fringe benefits for the teachers of all the universities. The meeting brought it on record that the increase in PhD allowance to Rs 5,000 had not been implemented yet and requested the government to implement the increase with effect from July 1, 2001 as announced earlier by providing necessary funds to the universities.

It further demanded that the house requisition facility should be provide to all public universities as was the practice in vogue in Punjab and Quaid-i-Azam universities.

The meeting pointed out that the conditions and facilities for higher studies were not encouraging and therefore the condition for promotion to higher cadres should be relaxed for another 10 years.

In another resolution, the meeting supported the struggle of Pakistan United Teachers Front and expressed solidarity with the teachers.

Prof Nazimuddin Shaikh of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology presided over the meeting.

Meanwhile, the teachers association of the Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam, has alleged that the vice chancellor was trying to create an awkward situation at the campus.

In a written communication addressed to the vice chancellor, the president of the association, Prof Dr Mohammad Roshan Waggan, and the secretary, Associate Prof Nawaz Leghari, said that if any harm was caused to teachers, the vice chancellor, the director campus, Khalid Murad, and the controller of examinations, Ali Murad Goraho, would be held responsible.

They alleged that the vice chancellor was misguiding the campus director and the controller of examinations to create a situation where the attention of the higher authorities could be diverted from the actual unstable situation of the university.