KU teachers protest financial crisis, seek chancellor's help




IV Report

KARACHI: The University of Karachi's Arts lobby witnessed a public demonstration on October 3, as teachers gathered under the banner of "Faculty Assembly" to protest the reported financial crisis and administrative indifference towards teachers. The protest follows a series of isolated meetings, and the teachers have resolved to approach the KU chancellor for intervention.

The meeting emphasised mainly on “delays in payments of salaries, prolonged delays in resolving issues faced by other faculty members and staff, financial hardships in the case of a couple of centres.” Dr Faiz from the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology highlighted the financial struggles of various centers, including halted house ceiling payments for the past two years due to lack of funds. 

Mr Ghufran Alam criticised the university administration for ignoring refer-back cases of teachers from the university syndicate. Professor Dr Firdous attributed the university's financial woes to poor mismanagement, despite increased student numbers and tuition fees. She called for an impartial investigation into the matter.

Dr Farrukh identified the bypassing of statutory structures and procedures as the root cause of KU's problems, negatively impacting academic, research, and administrative culture. Dr Riaz Ahmed blamed the vice chancellor for the administrative and financial crisis, citing mismanagement and non-convening of statutory bodies' meetings.

Other speakers included Faisal Awan and Muhammad Ali. The meeting concluded with a decision to prepare a comprehensive petition for the Chancellor, seeking intervention to address the financial and administrative crisis.
With an uninterrupted 23-year career in daily journalism (1991-2013), the author/editor of this blog currently serves as Editor of Social Track, a weekly newspaper focused on social sectors, based in Karachi. Holding a master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Karachi (1990), his professional experience includes roles as senior reporter at Daily Dawn, Karachi (May 2001-August 2013) and Chief Reporter at The News International, Karachi (April 1991-May 2001). He has a strong background in development journalism, he has an extensive portfolio of news stories, analytical reports and features covering a wide range of sectors. He has had the privilege of covering numerous high-profile figures, including Pakistani presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs, foreign dignitaries, and VVIPs and attending conferences and workshops abroad. He began his journalism career in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, he has received several national awards from government and private organisations. He has contributed to various radio and TV/channel broadcasts and has also served as a trainer at workshops in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, focused on training journalists.

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