KARACHI, Sept 13: The controversial issue of the forced retirement of a senior teacher of Karachi University will be discussed by the Karachi University Syndicate as a matter of preference in its meeting on Saturday.

The meeting is being convened on the directives of the Sindh governor. Earlier, the university administration had issued a 10-item agenda for the meeting without any mention of the teacher’s retirement issue, which has been a source of concern for the Karachi University Teachers’ Society as well.

Talking to Dawn, registrar of the university, Syed Aqil Burney, said that the agenda of the emergency meeting had been revised. “Now the order of the compulsory retirement of Prof Perwaiz A Siddiqui, will be placed as number one item on the agenda”, he said.

After a meeting with the KUTS delegation, the high-ups at the chancellor’s secretariat had reportedly asked the vice-chancellor to withdraw the order of the retirement of Mr Perwaiz.

The registrar said that it was not to his knowledge that any instructions had been given to the vice-chancellor by the controlling authority. “The VC is directly dealing with the issue of the professor’s retirement and he has also sought some legal advises as well”, he said. The registrar further said that deputy controller of examinations Syed Khalid had been re-posted as deputy director, BCC&T, with immediate effect.

Mr Burney said that police and court cases against the students were also being withdrawn. He further said that vice-chancellor had asked him to prepare an inventory justifications for termination orders and issuance of show-cause notices against the non- teaching staff.

It may be mentioned that the chancellor’s secretariat has asked the university authorities to review all the cases of disciplinary proceedings initiated during July and August.The VC has been asked to submit a report in this regard latest by September 20.

The registrar said that official enquiry had been initiated into the September 7 incident, in which students and teachers were manhandled and beaten by rangers and the university administration block was ransacked.