KARACHI, Nov 5: Academic activities, mainly teaching, for the first year classes at the Rangers occupied Govt Degree Boys College, Jungle Shah, Keamari, would start on Nov 15.

This was announced by the Nazim of Karachi, Naimatullah Khan, at a press conference held at the college on Tuesday.

The rangers’s continued occupation of the three-storey college building had been preventing the academic activities and the first stage, admission process, had to be delayed. A couple of days back, however, the rangers offered the education department officials evacuation from the ground floor of the building without giving a hint about their intention to vacate the rest of it. The education officials availed the offer and started the admission process, involving 350 students, convincing the college staff to somehow handle the job within the ground floor capacity.

The teachers and new students are equally concerned about the inadequate space available for the purpose of educational activities set to start on Nov 15. However, the City Nazim expressed his optimism about things to go in ‘right direction’.

He thanked the rangers for making room for educational activities and caring for the students’ precious academic year and hoped that they would vacate the entire building very soon. The Nazim offered his regrets to the students who suffered a lot due to the prolonged stay of the rangers at the college premises.

To a question, he said that he personally felt that rangers and the government had been complementing and supplementing each others while dealing with the problems and issues at Karachi.

However, he added, it was the expediency of the City government, too, to restore academic activities at the college as the students had already been offered admissions to it.

He assured the students of an unhindered academic session without any restriction and interference from the rangers. He wished a peaceful environment for the teachers and students.

The EDO (Education), Prof Rais Alvi, informed newsmen that about 450 rangers personnel have stationed at the college for about 30 months. He further stated that similar arrangements have been made for other units of the rangers at four other educational institutions/buildings in the city. All these institutions, he hoped, would be got vacated in phases following alternate accommodation arrangements for the rangers personnel.

He said that one principal and nine teachers were initially posted at the Jungle Shah college and more teaching and non-teaching staff would be joining them soon. He advised the students to finalize their admissions latest by Nov 9.

About the restricted space at the college, he said nine small and big rooms with furniture and laboratory equipment were at hand on the ground floor.

To a question, he said that the process of posting the teaching and non-teaching staff at the eight newly-established government degree colleges, including the Jungle Shah college, remained slow teachers had been engaged for the general elections in the country. Principals, he added, have now strictly been asked to make arrangements for teaching staff’s immediate postings at the new colleges. He said disciplinary action could be taken against those demonstrating negligence or lethargy.

The DO Education (Colleges), Prof Mujeeb Firoze agreed to a newsman’s suggestion about dearth of college teachers because of the ban on appointments for a long period as well as a big number of retired teachers. Prof Mujeeb said that the government should resolve this problem on priority basis as colleges were facing an acute shortage of teaching staff. The position of the non-teaching staff is no different, he added.