FUAAST gives five teachers show-cause notices, stops salaries of five others

Inaction by chancellor, dysfunctional admin has brought the varsity at verge of collapse, claims FAPUASA president


Our Correspondent June 21, 2017
PHOTO: FUAAST

KARACHI: Five teachers of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) have been given show-cause notices by the varsity administration while the salaries of five other professors have been stopped.

"We are suffering because we protested against the controversial acting vice-chancellor (VC) Suleman Muhammad," said international relations (IR) teacher Dr Asghar Dashti. He also claimed that the teachers were given legal notices just because they demanded the removal of the controversial VC, whose PhD thesis was declared plagiarised by different forums and appointment of a permanent VC for the university.

The acting VC's thesis has been declared plagiarised by Karachi University's (KU) senate, syndicate, Higher Education Commission and National Assembly's special committee on education.

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"Show-cause notices are being given to inquire why two head of departments were not taking classes regularly," shared Dashti, adding that the teachers protested against the VC and boycotted the classes for more than a month in March and April.

Meanwhile, for few teachers, the allegations in the show-cause notices are of harassment, mishandling and use of abusive language against the evening programme director, Dr Irshad.

The IR department chairperson Dr Waseemuddin and teacher's education department chairperson Prof Dr Adbul Salam Qureshi have submitted replies to the show-cause notices, but the university administration has determined that the explanations are not satisfactory. "Other than the notices, the salaries of five teachers, including four females," he explained.

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Teachers of the varsity protested against the acting VC and boycotted classes because 40 of their colleagues were sacked. Dashti said the university has been facing a severe crisis as its affairs are being managed on an ad-hoc basis since 2012. No new hiring and promotions have taken place since 2012, he said.

The acting VC, who does not have the authority to call for senate or syndicate meetings or take any administrative or policy decisions, has given an advertisement for vacancies in different departments. "The vacancies are not advertised for associate or professorship, but only for lecturer posts, which is injustice to many assistant professors who are waiting for their promotions since long and they are deserving candidates," Dashti claimed.

Teachers also demanded President Mamnoon Hussain, who is also the chancellor of the university, to intervene in the matter and issue a notification for the removal of the controversial acting VC. Teachers asked the chancellor to establish an interim setup and solve the administrative problems of the varsity.

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Meanwhile, the acting VC told The Express Tribune that if the teachers are given notices, then they should answer the administration. Evading a question about the salaries, he said, salaries can be stopped only if the teachers are involved in legal cases. "Many of those who have been given a notice have been involved in corruption cases and in some cases, we have received complaints from officials of mishandling," the acting VC claimed.

The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) President Kaleemullah Bareach said no moral or legal justification is left for keeping Suleman as the acting VC after the decision by KU Plagiarism Committee that his PhD thesis was plagiarised.

"The inaction by the Fuuast Chancellor President Mamnoon, highly influential senate and dysfunctional administration has brought a great institution at the verge of collapse," he added.

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Condemning the issuance of show-cause notices to the five teachers, the Fapuasa Secretary-General Dr Shakeel Farooqi declared the withdrawal of these notices inevitable. "The protest of the teachers on the issues that have been agreed upon by all the relevant institutions does not deserve a show-cause notice," he pointed out.

The Fuuast administration is burying itself deeper in problems by issuing such notices to the teachers, Farooqi said, adding that each passing day is building an onus of explanation on the administration, which cannot be escaped.

"Stopping the salaries of another five teachers for two months without accepting responsibility is another gross violation of law and evidence of maladministration in the troubled institution, for which all the relevant officials will be liable," he said.

The Sindh High Court has rejected the acting VC's petition against the decision that his thesis is plagiarised and said that KU has the authority to decide over the case.

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