HYDERABAD, Nov 30: President of the Sindh University Teachers Association (SUTA) Dr Azhar Shah and general secretary Dr Arfana Mallah have exchanged their roles with each other after recent elections of the teachers’ body, which have wiped out the pro-vice chancellor group.

Dr Mallah of the ‘harbinger of change’ group became the new president with 154 votes and Dr Azhar Shah of ‘reformists’ was elected general secretary with 205 votes in polls held at the Sindh University’s Jamshoro campus on Thursday. Total number of valid votes was 580 and 450 were polled.

The teachers’ body earned a name for waging a prolonged struggle to get Vice Chancellor Dr Nazir Mughal removed. Teachers sank their differences for the common cause and succeeded in forcing the government to send the VC on forced leave. The VC though returned from leave to take back the office after a few months.

According to unofficial results, Asghar Raza Burfat, Jane Alam Solangi and Shah Murad Chandio of ‘reformists’ were elected vice president, joint secretary and treasurer, respectively, after a close fight with candidates of ‘harbinger of change’, which was backed by former SUTA president assistant professor Badar Soomro. It was the second consecutive victory for the ‘reformists’.

The elections saw pro-academic group considered pro-VC being wiped out as the group could manage to win only two seats of the executive council. The group suffered a humiliating defeat as none of its candidates could manage to get votes even in three digit figures. SUTA has a 20-member executive council with two seats each allotted to seven faculties and newly established campuses of Badin, Mirpurkhas and Dadu.

Ronaq Behan, Irfan Sheikh, Amar Sindhu, Abdul Fatah Soomro, Dr Naheed Memon, Mahar Qazi, Sokhio Mal, Dr Mukhtar, Javed Chandio, Nizamuddin Channa, Abdul Sattar Almani and Abdul Sattar Gopang were elected members of the executive council. Contest on one seat of the faculty of pharmacy ended in a tie.—Staff Correspondent