KARACHI: The University of Karachi on Tuesday unanimously approved the award of professor emeritus status to its two former vice chancellors, Prof Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddqui and Prof Muhammad Qaiser.

The decision was taken in a meeting of the KU syndicate, which was attended by varsity teachers despite their ongoing boycott of academic activities.

When asked about their participation during the teachers’ boycott of academic and administrative activities on campuses across the province, Dr Mohsin Ali of the Karachi University Teachers’ Society said: “The meeting pertained to critical matters pertaining to teachers that couldn’t be delayed.”

According to a press release, the syndicate awarded the two former VCs professor emeritus status to “acknowledge their exceptional and outstanding contributions to academia and the university”.

The members also decided to remove Quratul-Ain Rauf, a lecturer from the Department of Teacher Education, from service “for violating the university’s rules and regulations”.

The meeting participants were informed that “all necessary and legal measures had already been adopted before sending her matter to the syndicate”, it added.

The syndicate meeting observed that the creation of a general endowment fund and pension endowment fund should be sent to the concerned department for relevant groundwork.

During the meeting, a three-member committee was formed for the referred-back cases. Prof Muhammad Qaiser was appointed as the committee’s convener, while other members of the syndicate, MPA Sadia Javed and Prof Nusrat Idrees, were appointed as members.

Published in Dawn, January 22th, 2025