Academic Staff Strikes at Universities Throughout Pakistan
In protest of various government decisions, including the proposal to designate bureaucrats as vice-chancellors, the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) declared on Wednesday that all teaching activities in the province’s universities would cease on Thursday (today).
The news was given at a briefing held at Karachi University (KU) after the association’s general body meeting.
“This demonstration will go on until the government changes its divisive higher education policies. Dr. Akhtiar Ghumro, president of FAPUASA-Sindh, stated that the government is completely to blame for this disturbance and that teachers were forced to take this action since their valid demands had not been met.
Dr. Ghumro outlined the main issues, such as the government’s decision to hire teachers on a contract basis and its refusal to revoke the proposed changes to the requirements for vice chancellor appointments, which would permit bureaucrats or commissioned officers to lead general universities.
“If universities are put under bureaucratic control, their autonomy, academic freedom, and educational standards will be seriously undermined,” he stated.
“The best educational institutions thrive on autonomy globally,” said Dr. Mohsin Ali, president of the Karachi University Teachers’ Society, in support of this position. That principle is broken by this action. The education system will become unstable as a result of contract-based employment, making teachers uneasy and unable to concentrate on their teaching and research.
The instructors also voiced their worries about the serious financial situation that public sector universities are currently facing, as well as the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) meddling in academic affairs. They maintained that a lack of manpower, infrastructure, and resources has affected educational quality and impeded research prospects.
Their demands included giving vice-chancellors the ability to issue non-objection certificates (NOCs) again, as the existing convoluted procedure has caused academic members to miss international conferences.
Dr. Kamran Zakria (NED University), Dr. Arshad Memon (Mehran Engineering University and Technology), Dr. Akhtiar Gadahi (Sufi University), Mr. Asif Hussain Samo (Sindh Madressatul Islam University), Dr. Tariq Hussain Jalbani (Sindh University), and Dr. Farhat Nazir Khoso (Sindh Agricultural University) were among the teachers who participated in the demonstration.
The instructors have promised to keep protesting until the government takes action to protect the province’s higher education system’s independence and standards.
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