KARACHI: A large number of Karachi University (KU) teachers held a demonstration at the Arts Lobby on Thursday morning, calling on the university administration to ensure the timely payment of salaries, settle pending dues, and provide justice to their colleague, Dr Munawar Rasheed.

They also raised their voices for colleagues whom they claimed had been “unfairly dismissed” during the selection process, demanding a review of their cases.

Addressing the gathering, Dr Faiz Muhammad, a senior teacher at the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, explained how financial constraints were affecting teachers, students, and the functioning of research facilities on campus.

“We haven’t received last month’s salary yet. Employees have been deprived of the house ceiling allowance for the past two years, causing immense distress among them,” he said.

Highlighting Dr Rasheed’s case, protesters said that he had been appointed at KU under the HEC’’s tenure track system in the late 1990s. However, successive university administrations failed to address his case.

Currently, they pointed out, the status of his employment is unclear, resulting in his not receiving his salary for the past 15 months. They urged the vice chancellor to address his case as a matter of urgency.

Mr Ghufran Alam read excerpts from the minutes of a syndicate meeting and questioned why teachers awaiting promotions were now being denied their fundamental right to a review.

He explained that the KU syndicate holds sole responsibility for reviewing and examining matters related to the selection boards and that it is the only legal forum where a concrete solution to “refer-back” cases can be found.

In their remarks, Prof Dr Firdous Imran and Dr Riaz Ahmed attributed the administrative and financial crisis to “mismanagement,” expressing regret that “statutory bodies are being used as rubber stamps.”

“Despite a significant increase in student numbers and tuition fees, the financial crisis persists,” Prof. Firdous said, calling for an impartial investigation.

The participants decided to draft a comprehensive petition to inform the chancellor of the issues plaguing the university, followed by a press conference.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2024