KARACHI, Feb 14: The Karachi University Teachers’ Society (KUTS) has opposed the formation of senate at the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology.

In a statement on Friday, secretary KUTS, Dr Riaz Ahmed, slammed the imposition of the Model University Ordinance (MUO) on the university. He also criticized the nomination of the members for its senate

He said those nominations had validated the apprehensions earlier expressed by KUTS that the ordinance was being promulgated to bureaucratize management and reduce the role of elected representatives of people, teachers and students.

He pointed out that there was no elected representative on the senate of the university. He said those nominated on the senate of the Urdu University were handpicked, most of them had no academic background and were either bureaucrats or technocrats answerable only to the nominating authority.

Dr Riaz said that the University Act 1974 provided for 16 elected members of the 21-member syndicate, but in the case of Urdu University it had only two elected members.

He further said that the original 1974 Act had six members from the provincial assemblies, one mayor, one college teacher and one college student, four university teachers and two from the university senate as members of the syndicate.

“Surprisingly, Urdu University has none of them. This fact alone shows how undemocratic is the UMO,” he added.

Dr Riaz urged the education ministry to withdraw the MUO and come clean with the public on the issue.—PPI