KARACHI: The Karachi University (KU) once again on Friday reiterated its stance on the much-hyped controversy over media reports suggesting that the university had decided to share students’ data with law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and stated that it was just a proposal discussed in a meeting and that only the university’s statutory bodies could take such a decision.

This time it was the university’s vice chancellor making the clarification in front of journalists called for a briefing.

“The university will never take a step that might worry parents and students. Such reports are absolutely false,” KU Vice Chancellor Prof Mohammad Ajmal Khan observed, adding that he personally was against handing over of data of all students to the LEAs.

But in the same breath, he said the university stood with LEAs and was waiting for their recommendations that would also be taken up by the statutory bodies.

He regretted what he described as “baseless negative reports” going round the media and said that KU was being wrongly targeted for spreading extremist ideas, adding that extremism and terrorism affected the whole country and state-level interventions were needed to address the issue.

“Nobody should doubt the KU message of a tolerant society. It’s the largest public-sector university in the country whose students are serving locally and internationally in large numbers.

“There could be one or two isolated incidents but one must not single out the institution and run a campaign against it. It’s your university and needs positive projection in the media,” he said.

He also pointed out that the university was doing its best despite limited resources, which included steps for better security. But, provision of security, he made clear, was not the university’s job.

Replying to a question regarding some teachers promoting violent ideas among students, he said he also heard about this but there were no confirmed reports. If evidences were found against any staff, action would be taken.

Right now, 33,000 students were enrolled with the university’s morning and evening programmes whereas 60,000 students of university-affiliated colleges also reported at the campus, journalists were informed.

Financial constraints

While the vice chancellor faced many tough questions during the press conference pointing to serious maladministration that had plagued the institution for decades and did candidly admit lack of action against the staff found guilty of misconduct, including charges of plagiarism and sexual harassment, the main focus of his talk remained financial problems the university faced.

“The university is in coma, I should say. We don’t have any money for research and to impart quality education. The university hardly gets money to pay salary to its staff,” he told journalists, urging them to highlight the case of education and public-sector universities.

All over the world, he said, state universities were supported by the government which fund educational and research opportunities for all.

“It’s like investment in future. No nation has progressed without investment in science and education. If KU gets appropriate funding, it will help engage students in constructive activities and discourage extremist tendencies,” he explained.

According to him, the university faced a deficit of up to Rs2bn every year. Replying to the queries related to corruption, illegal appointments and staff’s illegal occupation of staff houses, he said these problems developed over a long time and needed ‘time’ to resolve.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2017