UMERKOT: Faculty members of the Umerkot campus of the Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) staged a demonstration here the other day in protest against non-payment of disparity reduction allowance, differential amount of bills and other allowances for the last two years.

SAU Teacher Association’s (SAUTA) general secretary Dr Khalid Hussain Talpur and another leader Dr Ayaz Ali Soomro said at a press conference at local press club that despite having a budget of millions of rupees, the university management was not paying the allowances. It had not even made drinking water facility available at the campus, they said.

They complained that even after repeated requests to the university administration, their legitimate demands were not being accepted. The teachers were being harassed and pressurised in various ways, they complained.

Dr Ayaz Ali asked where the Rs180 million released for the campus had gone and demanded complete audit of the budget to find out on what this huge money had been spent.

He said: “We will not give up our demands. Our voice cannot be suppressed. We demand that our legitimate demands be accepted immediately, otherwise, we will be forced to do what we can to defend our rights.”

The teachers also staged a demonstration outside the press club against the university authorities.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2024