HYDERABAD:
The teaching faculty of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET), Jamshoro, has accused the administrative authorities of indirectly discouraging the teachers from pursuing masters of engineering and masters of philosophy qualifications.
The Mehran University Teachers Association (Muta), which has raised the issue, continued its protest on Tuesday.
Alleged discrimination and the absence of a uniform policy for lien also featured in the protest in addition to payment of brain drain allowance.
According to Muta President Prof Dr Tanweer Hussain, the ME and MPhil qualified teachers, under the rules, had been receiving half of the allowance which was being paid to the PhD faculty. He told The Express Tribune that since 2005, the PhD faculty was paid Rs10,000 while the ME and MPhil Rs5,000 allowance per month.
In February this year, a 150% increment was notified and the PhD teachers started to receive Rs25,000 per month qualification allowance. However, the other teachers are still being paid Rs5,000, against the rules.
"Since then, we have been demanding that the allowance of the ME and MPhil faculty should also be raised to Rs12,500 but the university has made the increment conditional to a financial grant of the provincial government," he shared.
He said the varsity's finance director, at a recent meeting, had stated that the MUET can pay the increased allowance to the teachers from its own budget. According to the Muta president, there are more than 150 teachers possessing ME and MPhil degrees.
"The vice chancellor [Prof Dr Muhammad Aslam Uqaili] while disregarding autonomy of the university, has frozen the enhancement of qualification allowance for ME and MPhil qualified faculty on the instructions of the Sindh universities and board deputy secretary," a statement issued by Muta maintained.
"Encouraging young teachers to acquire higher degrees in their specialised field should have been the top priority for the head of any [higher education] institution and the government … on the other hand, the university is spending an enormous budget on other projects," the statement added.
Dr Hussain also criticized the MUET's approach towards approving lien of the teachers who want to work temporarily or for a few years in foreign universities. He contended that foreign exposure contributed to the teachers' credentials and experience. "While some favourites are accorded the approval, obtaining lien is almost impossible for the rest."
He claimed that at least eight faculty members have so far resigned because their lien was not approved. The Muta's president also complained that unlike Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh is also not paying brain drain allowance to the faculty.
The Muta, whose token demonstrations continue, has warned of aggravating their protests if their demands are not accepted.
Meanwhile, MUET's spokesperson Imdad Soomro told The Express Tribune that the university can increase the allowance only after the provincial government notified the same. He said the PhD faculty allowance for all public sector universities in Sindh was also notified by the provincial government.
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