KARACHI: A day after the administration sent a letter to Chief Minister (CM) House to convey concerns over the incumbent finance director, teachers and non-teaching staff at Karachi University (KU) observed a ‘black day’ on Tuesday, intensifying their campaign in favour of their demands that earlier saw the closure of academic activities for three days.

The ‘black day’ was organised on a call of the Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) and the KU Employees Welfare Association.

Though there was no disruption in academic activities throughout the day, the university staff wore black armbands, hoisted banners at various departments and distributed pamphlets to express their reservations against the finance director, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the provincial government.

“This will be followed by a general body meeting on Thursday, which will be attended by teachers’ representatives from other parts of the country,” said Dr Shakeel Farooqi, heading the Kuts. He added that the likely support from other teachers’ associations would give a strong message to all relevant quarters.

According to sources, while the KU staff is seeking support from other universities over its demands for a raise in the annual HEC grant, provincial funds and changes in the Sindh universities act, the main focus will remain on the KU finance director whose removal has been repeatedly demanded by both teaching and non-teaching staff of the university.

“The recent correspondence of the KU vice chancellor to the CM carries two separate detailed letters by representatives of teachers and the non-teaching staff against the finance director,” a senior university official revealed on condition of anonymity.

Their complaints against the official included his absence during office hours as well as causing unnecessary delays in all matters including transfer of funds to the faculty.

“These funds included research grants from various funding agencies including the HEC, the lab running grant and contingency funds. In majority of the science departments, the lab running grant has been stopped since Feb 2016, causing a severe crisis in running undergraduate laboratories and even routine cleanliness,” he said.

The letters, he pointed out, had also voiced concern over the troubles caused to pensioners and medical patients by the finance director by delaying their cases.

“The letters have also leveled allegations of financial irregularities against him as well as his refusal to pay leave encashment to employees, which has the approval of university statutory bodies,” he said.

He, however, couldn’t comment on what stance the university administration had taken while conveying the concerns of the teaching and non-teaching staff over the finance official to the former chief minister, who had appointed him less than two years ago.

“The vice chancellor has never complained in writing about the finance director to the [former] chief minister. Still, we don’t know where the administration actually stands, though two separate letters from the teaching and the non-teaching staff have been sent to the CM along with a brief from the vice chancellor.”

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2016