KARACHI: A large number of teachers at Karachi University (KU) observed a black day on Thursday, demanding restoration of services of their colleague Dr Munawwar Rasheed.

Dr Rasheed, an associate professor at KU’s Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology (CEMB), has recently been unceremoniously removed from the service after remaining deprived of his salary for 20 months. He had been associated with KU since 2012.

The day saw teachers wearing black armbands and placing banners in favour of their colleague across the campus. These banners were later removed by the administration.

According to teachers, Dr Rasheed, also a former KU registrar, was initially appointed as an assistant professor at the chemistry department in 2012 under the government basic pay scale (BPS) structure. In 2018, he was appointed as an associate professor against a BPS 20 vacant post at CEMB.

“At the same time, he served under the Higher Education Commission’s Tenure Track System (TTS). Ironically, Dr Rasheed’s employment was never regularised by the KU administration through a selection board pending since 2019,” explained senior teacher Dr Riaz Ahmed, who is leading teachers’ campaign for Dr Rasheed.

“In addition, the KU administration failed to follow the HEC rules for the TTS, which say that the service of a teacher should be confirmed through an evaluation process after completion of six years under the system,” he said.

Dawn tried to reach out the KU vice chancellor but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2024