The varsity's haughtiness

A teaching job at the esteemed University of Karachi (KU) is quite possibly the best gig in Pakistani academia. Once the right political connections get you hired ahead of the far more deserving competition, you get to be an overpaid, underworked professor at the second-largest educational institute of the country.

Suddenly, gone are the torrid days of researching, critical thinking or learning something new. You are no longer expected to stay abreast of the latest developments in your field of expertise. And from this point on, as a KU staffer, you are now officially licensed to kill any innovative thought, any revolutionary idea among the students, with your newfound arsenal of bigotry.

A massive problem in itself, this educational inertia and backwardness of mind is still bearable. However, a recent incident revealed that the matter has now mutated into something even more disgusting. On top of their regular vice, the varsity's educators now have an attitude problem too.

At a welcome party thrown for freshers at the university's law department last week, some of the seniors had taken the liberty to invite a young motivational speaker. The idea was that the guest's relative youth would appeal to the new batch of students, who may also find inspiration in the individual's own journey from a shy, reserved kid on day one of his university to an acclaimed international speaker.

But either due to professional jealousy, or general snootiness, one particular professor — a new foreign-qualified recruit — interrupted the guest's speech when he was still in his prelude. The professor pulled a Kanye West as she practically snatched the mic from the guest's hands in a bid to show who's the boss.

Everyone in attendance was stunned except for the tone-deaf intruder who got on with the show while the embarrassed guest speaker made the exit.

The antagonist, in this case, is just one of the many found in the University of Karachi, who routinely create such scenes to maintain their air of superiority. Such obnoxious behaviour is totally uncalled-for, not just in a university environment but life in general.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2016.