KARACHI, May 3: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA) has strongly condemned the reduction in grants of three public universities of Sindh by the Higher Education Commission and warned that if the HEC did not refrain from threatening varsities, countrywide protests would be initiated against it.

According to media reports, the HEC has reduced grants of the Sindh University Jamshoro, the NED Engineering University Karachi and the University of Karachi for not adhering to its criteria of promotions and appointments of teaching staff.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, FAPUASA President Prof Sarwar Nasim said all appointments in these varsities were made in accordance with rules and regulations and as per recommendations of their statutory bodies.

“The HEC should refrain from by-passing statutory bodies of varsities and influencing their performance otherwise over the 7,000 teachers of public varsities would take to streets against the HEC,” he warned.

Prof Sarwar advised the Chairman HEC, Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, to stop blackmailing varsities and consult teachers before issuing so-called directives to the varsities.

He further charged that the commission’s chairman was trying to implement the Model University Ordinance through the backdoor; an ordinance which had been rejected by teachers of all public varsities of the country.—PPI