Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said. PHOTO: FILE
The CM said the bill, which the Sindh Assembly passed on Saturday in the face of the opposition's protest, was passed after consultation with vice-chancellors and the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa).
"Yes, I think it’s wrong," he replied when asked to comment on the perception of Fapuasa, which has rejected the bill as a move to further usurp autonomy of the higher education institutions. "They [Fapuasa] perhaps haven't read the bill."
The association, however, has pointed out around half a dozen objectionable provisions in the bill. They argue that is the third successive amendment in the law regulating universities since 2013, which has continued to curtail the autonomous status of varsities. The association's Pakistan and Sindh chapters have called an urgent meeting at NED University in Karachi on March 12 to discuss a unanimous response by means of protest.
University teachers reject amendments in Sindh University Laws Act
The CM condemned the incident of a show being hurled at former prime minister and leader of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz Muhammad Nawaz Sharif in Lahore.
Delimitation
The CM said huge discrepancies existed in the population of National Assembly constituencies. "In one place there is a population of 1.1 million in a NA constituency and in another just 400,000," he claimed. Shah asked the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to address this yawning gap. He said the provincial government will also request the ECP to facilitate the mechanism of filing objections to the initial delimitation of constituencies.
Convocation
Speaking at Sindh University's convocation 2015, which was held over two years late, the CM reiterated the Pakistan Peoples Party's commitment to the higher education. He said Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister and party chairperson, dreamed of establishing an independent university separately for each district in Sindh. He added that PPP-Parliamentarians President Asif Ali Zardari, while carrying forward her mission, has supported SU in opening up campuses in half a dozen districts in the province.
He assured that the provincial government will consider the financial constraints being faced by SU in streamlining its academic, transport and other functions. He said he would speak to the concerned departments to resolve these issues as soon as possible.
Public universities will now be controlled by the chief minister
The CM said expansion of the Indus Highway's stretch between Jamshoro and Sehwan will also benefit the faculty, students and staff of the three universities in Jamshoro. He said that construction of an overhead bridge at the Jamshoro railway crossing, where traffic congestion creates problem for the people commuting between Jamshoro and Hyderabad, will be completed soon.
SU VC Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat thanked the CM for previous grants totaling Rs946 million for the Badin and Mirpurkhas campuses and a special grant of Rs236 million to meet SU's recurrent budget. He also acknowledged the Higher Education Commission for providing Rs1.6 billion grant.
Prof Burfat informed the audience that of the 650 faculty members of SU, 317 teachers are qualified up to the level of doctorate of philosophy. He added that the university has so far awarded 1,600 PhD degrees while the current enrollment of research scholars in the masters of philosophy and PhD programmes stood at 3,600.
At the convocation, 53 doctorates of philosophy, 66 masters of philosophy and masters of science, 631 postgraduate and undergraduate degrees were awarded to the students. As many as 18 students who excelled in their studies were decorated with gold medals and 82 with silver medals.
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