Students suffer in FUUAST's teacher-administration feud

No classes held by teachers of six FUUAST depts for more than a month

KARACHI: The teachers of six departments of the Federal Urdu University for Arts, Science and Technology [FUUAST] Abdul Haque campus have stopped teaching and boycotted classes since March 20.

The faculty of the departments of mass communication, international relations, social welfare, education, teacher's education and Urdu have been protesting against the administration, as it has refused to facilitate the teachers for the past two years.

"The fight is against the basic administrative crisis," said a teacher of the mass communication department, Dr Erfan Aziz, who is also on the committee formed to protest for the teachers' rights - the 'Urdu University Bachao Committee'. The committee also comprises teachers from the Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Islamabad campuses.

Universities often hire cooperative teachers in departments that are short of faculty but the administration has stopped allowing cooperative teachers. Aziz gave an example of the international relations department and said that the department has to teach 43 courses for which they have only four teachers. Four of its teachers are out of the country for research purposes.



Sharing another example of the lack of facilities, he said that the department of mass communication has a capacity of 60 admissions each year but the administration has given 148 admissions this year despite the fact that the facilities have not been increased and in the last two years, three teachers retired from the department.

The doctorate programme in the Sindhi, social welfare, education and teacher's education departments closed down this year due to lack of faculty at the departments.

Suleman D Muhammad, who is the acting vice-chancellor of FUUAST, cannot hold the selection board for promotions but can facilitate the cooperative teachers. "The university has contacted the teachers today and agreed to facilitate them but now it is useless, as the annual examinations are to be held from May 10," lamented Aziz, who claimed that now the administration is just trying to save face because the students will question them when the examinations will be delayed.



Faculty members who are protesting for their rights are now demanding the VC be removed, a move that has come immediately after the syndicate of the University of Karachi declared on April 20 the Muhammad's PhD degree plagiarized.

According to officials at the Higher Education Commission and University of Karachi, from where he received the degree, the degree was plagiarised. "How can such a controversial man be the head of our varsity?  What will be the reputation of the institute?" questioned another teacher at the university, Asghar Dashti.

The teachers have started a campaign titled 'Go VC, Go' and are demanding the varsity's chancellor, President Mamnoon Hussain, intervene and revive the selection board of the varsity.