KARACHI: Expressing grave concern over a long delay in promotions, Karachi University (KU) teachers have demanded that the university administration immediately announce a schedule for holding selection boards according to the procedure clearly defined in the University Code and the 2018 Act.

Speaking at a press conference, organised by KU Selection Board Action Committee, here on the campus on Tuesday, Dr Riaz Ahmed said that the continued delay in promotions had led to deep frustration and de-motivation and the teachers plan to observe hunger strikes and boycott classes, if this matter further lingered on.

Several teachers waiting for their promotions, he pointed out, had retired, while more than 400 faculty members were waiting for their selection boards since 2019. There were also some pending selection boards of 2013.

Dr Ahmed regretted that the university administration had taken no notice of grievances of teachers who had been holding protests over the issue for two months now.

Presenting demands on behalf of the newly formed action committee, Dr Ahmed said the administration announced a schedule for the posts advertised in 2019.

“Taking consent of foreign experts for engaging them in the scrutiny process has become a major reason for delay in promotions. This is so because the university hasn’t been able to adopt modern methods of sending candidates’ documents for foreign scrutiny and make timely payments to experts,” he explained.

This scrutiny process, speakers said, neither existed at any Pakistani university (where promotion process was completed in a few months) nor was in line with the Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Act 2018. It was adopted in old times when relevant subject experts were not available within the country.

The 2018 act, teachers shared, adopted the same promotion procedure as given in the University Code of 1972, which required that three experts should be part of the selection board.

At KU, there are currently 136 vacant posts for lecturer, 45 for assistant professors, 37 for associate professors and 110 vacant posts for professors. Resultantly, several departments are being run without chairpersons. The total number of internal and external candidates who applied for these posts in response to the 2019 advertisement are between 5,000 and 6,000.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2022