KARACHI: Despite receiving little official and public attention, teachers and employees of the Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology continued with their protest on Tuesday, calling upon the university chancellor (the president) to play his constitutional role and save the institution from complete destruction.

Teaching and non-teaching staff of the varsity held a one-hour demonstration at the Gulshan campus of the university.

“The university faces a serious administrative and financial crisis and our troubles are aggravating with each passing day since most university accounts have been frozen."

Also read: Urdu varsity’s registrar, treasurer sacked

“Regular staff has received only partial salary amount of the last month while no payment has been made to the visiting faculty,” Prof Seema Naz Siddiqui, a senior teacher and former senate member of the university told Dawn.

Pensioners were worst hit by the crisis, she added.

According to her, the financial crisis is badly affecting day-to-day running of academic and administrative affairs because the university has no funds.

Earlier, during the protest members of the teaching and non-teaching staff chanted slogans against Vice Chancellor Zafar Iqbal who they blamed for the university crisis.

They criticised what they called illegal appointments being made at the university and demanded that the VC present himself for accountability.

“The situation could affect students’ future as the Higher Education Commission (HEC) can decide not to verify academic degrees of the institution in the present situation,” said Prof Syed Nasir Abbas, a member of the University Bachao Forum, while addressing the gathering.

Case history

The Urdu university (with two campuses in Karachi and one in Islamabad) has been facing administrative troubles for two years. The latest was created after VC Iqbal against whom teachers had lodged many complaints of alleged administrative and financial malpractices did not hold a single session of the senate in a year, which is mandatory under the university rules. The absence of a senate session, sources said, had given arbitrary powers to the vice chancellor to take administrative decisions, which were being resisted by teachers.

They also communicated their grievances to the HEC and the chancellor — President Mamoon Hussain.

The latter in his capacity as the university chancellor called a meeting of the senate last year in which Prof Iqbal was sent on a three-month forced leave while Prof Mohammad Qaiser, the vice chancellor of Karachi University, was made acting VC of the university.

Prof Iqbal, who did not participate in the meeting, went to court and got a stay order against the meeting’s decisions. The court vacated the stay order for a day on March 11 during which Prof Qaiser submitted his joining report as acting vice chancellor of the Urdu university to the HEC. Soon after, Prof Qaiser went abroad and the chancellor appointed Prof Suleman D. Mohammad as acting vice chancellor, who during his interim period at the Islamabad campus froze the university accounts being used by Prof Zafar Iqbal and appointed a registrar.

Later, FIRs were also registered against teachers in Karachi for supporting Prof Qaiser who was not allowed by Prof Iqbal’s administration to take his charge at the Karachi campus.

Presently, the university has two vice chancellors, two registrars and two treasures. Prof Qaiser makes his decision while sitting at Karachi University.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play