KARACHI: The Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) on Thursday announced an end to the boycott of classes after the Sindh government issued a “clarification” of its controversial Feb 1 letter and allowed public sector universities, which have statutes in place for staff promotion and appointment, to hold selection boards.

Teachers at the university had been observing the boycott for 10 days.

The decision to end the protest was taken at a general body meeting of Kuts on the campus. It announced that all academic activities would resume from Friday (today).

KU teachers had suspended academic activities when the secretary of universities and boards while participating in selection boards’ proceedings on Jan 31 declared them null and void on the grounds that the KU vice-chancellor had not obtained prior permission from the government for the process.

Sindh govt has accepted almost all demands, says Kuts president

One of the selection boards was being held on court orders. A day later, the department of universities and boards released a letter barring universities to hold selection boards and directed them to draft service rules.

“Teachers have decided today to end the boycott of classes considering government assurances on the matter. The controversial Feb 1 letter has already been clarified through another letter,” said Kuts president Prof Shah Ali-ul-Qader.

He referred to a meeting with Minister Ismail Rahu who, he said, accepted almost all demands of teachers and assured them that the government would not hurt the autonomous status of universities.

“We will be monitoring the progress of the matter by government and may opt for a boycott again if it did not fulfil its promises,” he warned.

According to the letter released by the department of universities and boards on Feb 10, the universities that have already framed the statutes, regulations and rules through a competent process of law duly approved by the “respective competent authority/forum shall strictly follow the same during the meetings of the selection boards, syndicates, senates”.

About the universities where statutes and regulations have not been framed yet, it said that they should prepare the same and “get approval from the competent forum/authorities duly vested by the competent forum”.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2022