KARACHI: The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast) has constituted a committee to negotiate with teachers who have been boycotting semester exams on both campuses of the varsity over non-payment of their dues and the varsity’s financial crisis.
On Tuesday, the exam boycott at Fuuast entered its second day.
According to a notification issued by Fuuast on June 9, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zabta Khan Shinwari formed the committee following a meeting in which the concerns raised by teachers’ representatives and the challenges confronting the university were reviewed in detail.
The committee has been tasked with engaging with teachers’ representatives and other relevant stakeholders, preparing workable recommendations and presenting them to the university’s top administration to help resolve ongoing issues and ensure the continuity of academic activities.
The committee will be headed by Prof Dr Abdul Majeed Khan, in-charge of the Gulshan-i-Iqbal campus. Other members include Registrar Prof Dr Syed Inayat Ali Shah, Treasurer Danish Ehsan, Controller of Examinations Ghiasuddin Ahmed, Dr Kausar Yasmeen, Director Planning and Development Najamul Arifeen and Campus Officer Adnan Akhtar.
The development comes amid an ongoing protest movement by the university’s teachers, who have been boycotting examinations to press for the resolution of financial and administrative issues.
A statement by the university’s Anjuman-i-Asatza said the boycott at Fuuast continued for a second day in line with a decision taken at a joint general body meeting of faculty members from the Abdul Haq and Gulshan-i-Iqbal campuses.
It said all examinations scheduled during the morning session at the Abdul Haq campus were completely boycotted. During the second session, examinations were conducted on a limited scale in the Departments of Psychology and Teacher Education.
At the Gulshan-i-Iqbal campus, examinations were held partially in only five departments — Chemistry, Microbiology, Pharmacy, Education and Mass Communication — out of a total of 22 departments.
Teachers’ representatives claimed the boycott received strong support from faculty members, while a large number of students also expressed solidarity with their demands and ongoing protest campaign.
The teachers maintain that the university’s severe financial and administrative crisis is the “result of poor governance, ineffective policies and administrative mismanagement”. They argue that the “continued delay in the payment of salaries, pensions and other dues has created serious financial hardships” for teachers, employees and their families.
Faculty leaders have called on the federal government, the Ministry of Education and the Higher Education Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the university’s financial and administrative affairs, identify those responsible for the crisis and take corrective measures.
The teachers vowed to continue their protest and examination boycott until their demands are met and a lasting solution to the financial crisis is found.
Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2026
