Crying foul: Staff protests MUET registrar’s appointment

Demand govt to withdraw posting of teacher on administrative post

HYDERABAD: The Sindh government's appointment of a registrar at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) has stirred protests from the varsity's officials. The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) has also disapproved of what it describes as the Sindh government's detrimental intervention in the autonomy of universities.

On Thursday, Mehran University Officers Association started a protest movement by observing a token work boycott of one hour. They also staged a demonstration against the appointment of Dr Prof Abdul Waheed Umrani on the post of registrar. The protest continued for the second day on Friday.

"We demand the Sindh government to immediately withdraw the notification," said Sagheer Ahmed Memon, president of the association, who led the protests at MUET's administrative building. The officers will daily boycott work for an hour and then decide on a future course of action after assessing the provincial government's response.

The officers termed the posting a violation of the provincial government's August 2015 agreement with Fapuasa. The government had reportedly assured the association that it would not make appointments on administrative positions, leaving it to all the public sector universities to appoint the registrars, controllers exam and directors finance.

The two sides decided to amend the Sindh Universities Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 to curtain the government's powers and restore the varsities' autonomy.

However, despite the assurance, the government is yet to table a related bill in the Sindh Assembly.

The officers' association also decried that a teacher has been appointed as the registrar of MUET. "MUET spends up to Rs10 million on foreign PhD studies and it is regrettable that teachers, instead of utilising their qualification for education and research, opt for administrative posts," said a protesting officer.

The Sindh University Officers Association has also expressed support for their counterparts in MUET.

"We completely support their [MUET's officers] stance and demand that the provincial government should withdraw the notification of the registrar's appointment," Murtaza Siyal, president of the association, said while talking to The Express Tribune.

Fapuasa Sindh president Dr Shahnawaz Talpur told The Express Tribune that the association not only disapproves MUET registrar's appointment but also that of MUET's pro vice-chancellor (PVC). "This problem actually started a few days ago when MUET's registrar Dr Taha Hussain Ali was appointed as the PVC," he claimed. Dr Talpur said Fapuasa recommends the selection of the PVC from among the top three senior most university professors rather than any administrative official.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 13^th, 2016.