KARACHI, Sept 8: The Karachi University administration and the Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) on Sunday hurled allegations at each other over the Saturday’s incident, which left over 35 students and teachers injured at the KU campus.
As the war of words intensified, both parties vowed that they would not be browbeaten into submission.
Inquiry ordered: The vice-chancellor of Karachi University, Prof Dr Zafar Saeed Saifi, has formed a committee to inquire into the Saturday’s incident.
This was stated by a senior official of the university here on Sunday.
He said the vice-chancellor presided over a meeting of the top officials of the university at his office at the campus.
The meeting was attended by all the deans of the faculties, Registrar and other senior officials of the university.
A senior official of the university later said the vice-chancellor had formed a committee to conduct an inquiry into the Saturday’s events at the campus.
Some faculty members and students were injured in confrontation with the security staff of the university. A mob also ransacked the Administration block and damaged the car of the vice-chancellor, doors and equipment of his office as well as university’s telephone exchange.
The Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Learning, Prof Dr Abdul Rashid, will be the convener of the inquiry committee while its members will be Dean of Faculty of Arts, Prof Dr Abu Zar Wajidi, and Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, Prof Dr Ayub Ali.
The inquiry committee has been asked to present its report as early as possible to the vice-chancellor.
Meanwhile, the meeting also decided that there would be no increase in students fee for the next two years and the 10 per cent increase per annum in the fee would not be effected for the next two years.
A senior university official termed as baseless a propaganda campaign that the university was increasing fee of students from the next semester. There was no truth in such a propaganda, he added.
For ensuring the protection of honour and dignity of the faculty members, the teachers will have to wear gowns at the campus from Sept 30.
It was stated that the participants of the meeting appreciated the policy of vice-chancellor to help resolve the problems through negotiations.
They also assured him of their full cooperation and backed the steps taken for running the affairs of the institution.
A senior official further said that it was pointed out at the meeting that owing to steps taken against corruption, ghost employees, electricity theft, the university had saved a sum of Rs 8.1 million during the past three months.
The meeting lauded the efforts of Students Adviser Mohammad Shahid and asked him to continue his responsibilities.
The vice-chancellor told the meeting that he considers all those associated with the university teachers, as members of the family and was ready to listen to their problems and take remedial measures to resolve the genuine ones.
He said that as the head of the family he is willing to meet everyone. However, he made it clear that hooliganism and politics of power was not at all in the interest of the university and was contrary to the dignity and status of the teachers and the students and that such practices should be shunned. He made it clear that in negotiations lies the solution of all the problems.
KUTS: Meanwhile, the Karachi University Teachers Society decided at a meeting that it would continue its struggle against the “incompetent administration till the latter’s dismissal”.
A KUTS spokesperson told Dawn that the society deplored the Sept 7 tragedy in KU in which the rangers had beaten up students and teachers.
The meeting, which was attended by members and senior elected members of the syndicate, decided that the teachers would assemble at the Arts lobby on Monday morning and stage a peaceful demonstration despite the administration’s decision of suspending classes.
It also decided that the governor would be formally requested to sack the incompetent administration and the vice-chancellor.
SPLA: Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) in order to express their resentment and register their protest against subjecting teachers and students of Karachi University to violence and excesses and humiliating sanctity of women on Saturday at the campus, announced to observe Monday, Sept 9 as black day, adds PPI.
A decision to this affect was undertaken at an emergency meeting of SPLA chaired by its president, Prof Qazi Sirajuddin which decided that 7,000 professors and lecturers of Sindh colleges would boycott their classes and all teaching and non- teachings activities would come to a halt.
While expressing surprise over response of Sindh Governor over this heinous act of barbarism by law enforcement agency, the meeting accused Vice Chancellor of KU, Dr Zafar Saeed Saifi, Registrar Dr Aqil Burni, deputy registrar, Khalid Jamai, and a religious scholar, Naseer Turabi, of involvement in this act of violence against innocent students and not controlling Rangers.
The participants of the meeting demanded Sindh governor to remove forthwith VC KU from his post and hold an inquiry into causes of this incident through a High Court judge and award due punishment to all those officials and personnel of rangers allegedly involved in unleashing violence against a large number of students and teachers.
FIR registered: Police registered a case late on Saturday night against the teachers and students for breach of peace, damaging government property, etc, police said.
Mobina Town Police said the FIR 113/2002 was registered on the complaint of Khalid Jamai, Deputy Registrar of Karachi University, against Professor Pervez Siddiqui, Professor Sarwar Naseem, Mohammad Arif, Tajuddin, Jalees Qadri, Salamuddin and others.
Two professors Sarwar Naseem and Abdul Qadeer, an assistant professor Aftab Ahmed Siddiqui, and five students of Karachi University had been injured when rangers resorted to baton-charge protesting teachers and students in front of Administration Block on the varsity premises on Saturday morning. The injured had their medico-legal examination performed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital but the police did not reach the hospital to record the statements of the injured. As per law, the police are bound to record statement of an injured at a hospital.
Those who were injured are now wanted in the FIR registered with Mobina Town police station and if they go to the police to register a counter FIR, they would be arrested, the sources maintained.
exams
POSTPONED: The Controller of Examinations of Karachi University on Sunday announced that owing to some unavoidable circumstances the examinations scheduled for Sept 9 and 10 have been postponed, adds APP.
The new dates for these would be announced later, it was further stated.
A senior university official said on Sunday that for those students who could not appear in the examination on September 7, a new date will be notified later.
The University of Karachi will remain open on Monday.
