May 30, 2003	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 27,1424

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GILGIT, May 29: The recent decision to merge Post-graduate College Gilgit (PCG) with the Karakuram International University has caused discontent among the academic staff of 12 colleges of the Northern Areas.

After an emergency meeting, office-bearers of the Northern Areas Colleges Academic Staff Association (NACASA) told reporters that the vice-chancellor of the KIU had been violating the decision made by the Northern Areas cabinet on Dec 17, 2002 in which the NAs cabinet had held that the status of all the degree colleges and PGC would stay intact but all the public sector colleges would be affiliated with the KIU. They said the ECNEC had also endorsed the plan of NAs cabinet.

In a statement they said following the merger of PCG, the promotion of over 150 lecturers and assistant professors of the remaining 11 colleges had been pushed back, as this system would put an end to the prevalent four-tier system of promotions.

They said on the one hand ‘market-oriented’ subjects were being introduced at KIU, on the other hand traditional subjects like literature, social sciences and linguistics, had not been included in the academic scheme. They said that these decisions would deprive thousands of students desirous to pursue their education in traditional subjects. They questioned that if the traditional subjects were not being introduced then why teachers of these subjects were being taken in KIU fold?

They appealed to the President, who is also the chancellor of KIU, and other authorities to intervene into the KIU affairs or they would boycott all the academic activities in the colleges of the region.