• Students suffer most due to frequent cancellation of semester exams
• Official says payment of house ceiling allowance to cost varsity Rs510m

KARACHI: While thousands of students of the University of Karachi continue to face disruption in their semester exams due to ongoing protests by teachers and non-teaching staff over unpaid dues, the KU administration has approached the Sindh government for a bailout grant to resolve the financial crisis, it emerged on Monday.

A senior KU official told Dawn that the varsity administration had approached the chief secretary and informed him that the KU was facing a serious financial crisis after the federal government had announced an 85 per cent increase in the house ceiling allowance.

He said that the Sindh government had yet to implement the federal government’s decision and, if implemented, it would put an additional burden of Rs510 million on the KU.

The official said that the KU administration urged the Sindh government to immediately resolve the issue of house ceiling allowance of all employees, including teachers.

The ongoing teachers’ strike, which was joined by non-teaching staff on Monday, has not only halted teaching activities but has also intensified concerns over prolonged delays in examinations, placing thousands of students under severe academic and mental stress.

A joint protest demonstration was held on the campus on Monday against the non-payment of dues including the house ceiling allowance, leave encashment, evening programme payments, supervisor fees, paper-checking charges, paper-setting payments and invigilation charges.

Speaking to Dawn, Karachi University Teachers Society (Kuts) secretary Maroof Bin Rauf said the federal government had introduced the house ceiling allowance, but teachers at the KU had not received the allowance since November 2025. “With every passing month, the amount of arrears is increasing, but there is still no indication of when the payments will be made,” he said.

KU Employees Welfare Association President Zahid Hussain Baloch told Dawn that teachers, employees and other staff members would continue their protest until the issues were resolved.

He said that house ceiling allowance, leave encashment and evening programme payments were common issues affecting the entire university staff, adding that around 2,000 employees were suffering because of non-payment of dues.

Muttahida expresses concern over financial crisis

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan expressed concern over the worsening financial, administrative and academic crisis at the university and said that the Sindh government’s “continued negligence and flawed policies” had pushed the country’s largest educational institution into severe turmoil.

The party said prolonged non-payment of arrears to teachers, officers and employees, suspension of house ceiling allowance and other financial issues had paralysed the university’s administrative and academic structure.country’s largest educational institution into severe turmoil.

The party said prolonged non-payment of arrears to teachers, officers and employees, suspension of house ceiling allowance and other financial issues had paralysed the university’s administrative and academic structure.

The MQM-P urged the authorities concerned to release special funds for the university to clear all pending dues including the house ceiling allowance and help the institution overcome its financial crisis.

At the same time, it appealed to teachers to avoid, as far as possible, the complete suspension of examinations and academic activities in view of students’ educational future and mental stress.

Meanwhile, the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) said several examinations had already been postponed, while the announcement of a complete boycott of teaching, administrative activities and examinations from May 11 had further worsened the situation.

It said although the teachers’ demands were legitimate and deserved attention, students were the worst affected by the crisis as they were facing uncertainty regarding examinations and severe mental stress about their academic future.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026