KARACHI: Expressing serious reservations over Karachi University’s admission process, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan on Wednesday criticised the KU vice chancellor for depriving students of the city of admission to the varsity and warned of severe protests if “injustices” did not stop.

Specifically holding the VC responsible, MQM-P leader Faisal Subzwari told a press conference that candidates of Karachi had been denied admission to KU as the VC had unilaterally and illegally reduced the merit of an aptitude test from 50 per cent to 40pc to benefit over 1,000 candidates from other parts of Sindh and Pakistan over the students of Karachi.

He demanded that the VC’s decision to reduce the merit be put before the Academic Council.

Accompanied by party leader Aminul Haq and head of the All Pakistan Muttahida Students Organisation Ahsan Ghori, Mr Subzwari said that admissions to KU were given on the basis of three categories, as students of Karachi were given first priority followed by those belonging to other parts of Sindh and the third category was for the students from the rest of Pakistan.

He said that it was gross negligence and incompetence of the KU administration that instead of granting admission to students of Karachi they gave admission to students from the interior of Sindh and Pakistan.

He made it clear that the first right of admission to the KU was that of students of Karachi, as students of Jamshoro or Khairpur enjoyed first right of admission to their respective cities’ education institutes and varsities.

Mr Subzwari recalled that the Pakistan Peoples Party had established a medical college in Lyari where only students living in the Lyari, Gadap, Bin Qasim and Keamari areas were allowed to take admission and other students of Karachi had no right on that educational facility.

He said that minimum 50pc marks were required for clearing the aptitude test, but on the instruction of the VC the merit was reduced from 50pc to 40pc in the darkness of night and in the absence of the official in charge of admissions.

He said the KU administration had given 25 admissions to its business administration programme this year and none of them belonged to Karachi. Last year, 25 students got admission to the petroleum technology department and this year only two were given admission and on this basis the KU ended the course, he said.

The MQM leader said the KU administration stopped issuing “claim forms” to students only to hide their incompetence. He demanded that the claim forms be issued forthwith.

He said it was a matter of shame that those students who went to the KU for admission were now lodging complaints before the National Accountability Bureau.

He warned of protests on the campus and outside as well as to bring the matter to parliament if injustices in KU with students of Karachi did not stop.

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2018