KARACHI: Sindh varsities teachers demand disbanding: Task force on higher education
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 29: Teachers of public-sector universities in Sindh have demanded immediate disbanding of the task force on improvement of higher education in Pakistan as, according to them, its recommendations were based on false assumptions and wrong philosophy.
A meeting of the Federation of All Pakistan Public Universities Academic Staff Associations, Sindh Chapter, was held at the Karachi University on Wednesday.
The meeting, attended by senior office bearers of teachers’ bodies from different universities of the province, including engineering and agriculture universities, deliberated on the recommendations and the proposed university ordinance, and demanded that any implementation of the recommendations made by the task force should be stopped forthwith.
Unfolding the details of the meeting and future line-of-action against the workings of the task force at a press conference, president of FAPUASA, Sindh, Prof Shamsuddin Shaikh, of Sindh University, said that in order to bring about positive changes in the higher education system of the country, a new commission/task force should be constituted. The commission should propose amendments in the existing University Act of 1974, which was passed through an elected assembly, instead of presenting entirely new proposals, he added.
He said that the 17 members of the task force includes three vice-chancellors of public-sector universities who possess PhD degrees and vast experience in research and teaching, while the rest of the 13 members are either non-PhDs or from the private sector or representatives of the government or management.
He apprehended that a committee with such a low ratio of experienced academicians had a very low possibility of producing a report of high quality, specially when it was directed towards reforms in education.
It was further viewed that the provision of the leadership of the task force to the private sector and taking feedback in terms of funds, as well as ideas from foreign agencies which were allegedly dominated by forces against prosperity and progress of Pakistan, could not be neglected.
It was further viewed that the co-chairpersons of the task force were not people of high academic esteem.
Prof Shams informed that almost all the teachers at the public sector universities were perturbed over the working of the task force and a meeting of FAPUASA had been convened on June 20 and 21, at Peshawar, to decide a unified line-of-action against the task force recommendations and finalization of a draft for presidential ordinance.
He said that any formal communication or meeting with the existing task force was likely to take place on June 22 at Peshawar.
He said that in view of the fact that under the recommendations of the task force, the BoG of the Higher Education Commission would replace the present UGC, the governing boards of the universities and executive or academic councils of the universities had to be constituted of the persons nominated by high government officials and the already existing thin layer of autonomy in public sector universities would totally be eliminated.
Presenting the resolution of the FAPUASA meeting, Dr Fahimuddin of the KU said that any new set-up of the public- sector universities should take into consideration the genuine needs of the nation and make education more accessible and less restrictive.
Secretary of Karachi University Teachers’ Society, Sarwar Nasim, presented an impact sheet, stating the pre-reform status and the proposed reform in the ordinance in five different areas including administration, research, management, curriculum and finances.
It was said in his report that all administrative powers would concentrate in the VC, who would no longer be answerable to the syndicate on administrative affairs. The end of teachers or students’ representation would result in a diluted democracy replaced by rule from above, he added.
It was further said that the proposed temporary/tenure appointments and appointments through the VC would create a sense of job insecurity, complacency, suppression of critical expression and promotion of corruption and favouritism.
Senior teachers from the KU and other universities, including Prof Suhail Barkati, Dr Arif Kazmi, Prof Shahida Kazi, Dr Abdul Qadeer, M. Shahid Siddiqui, Syed Badruddin Hashmi, Dr Ali Nawaz Laghari, Prof Nazimuddin, Dr A.Q. Chand and Prof Jan M. Khiro were also present at the press conference.
