SU teachers demand VC resignation over murder of colleague

They asked why Prof. Chanur was not given securi­ty.

HYDERABAD: The academic staff of the Sindh University has given the vice chancellor, Dr Nazir Mughal, one week to tender his resignation and take responsibility for the murder of Prof. Bashir Chanur.

The enraged teachers held a protest on Wednesday in which they chanted slogans against Dr Mughal. They accused him of corruption that prevails in the administration and criticised him for implementing “misguided policies”. They said that both these things have fomented violence on campus.

The former director of student affairs as well as the head of the disciplinary committee, Prof. Chanur, was shot dead on the university’s premises on Monday. He was on his way home in his car when he was intercepted by two suspects on a motorcycle who shot him.

During his tenure, the disciplinary committee had rusticated 19 students and banned four others from entering the university because of their violent behaviour. The president of the Sindh University Teachers Association (SUTA), Dr Azhar Shah, said that Prof. Chanur was receiving threats following these decisions of the disciplinary committee. He added that the teachers would launch a movement against Dr Nazir Mughal if he did not respond to their demands.

At a press conference on Tuesday, members of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA), SUTA and teachers associations from different public universities demanded that a commission be set up to investigate the incident.

“ The vice chancellor and registrar are protected by security guards. Why was one not assigned to protect Prof. Chanur when he began receiving the death threats?” asked Prof. Arfana Mallah.

She said that retired administrative officers had been appointed to various posts in the institution and were now in control of it.

Members of SUTA also said that the presence of the Rangers and police in the university was part of the problem. They feel that private security arrangements at the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology have been very effective in maintaining peace and want the same model to be implemented in the Sindh University.

The Sindh chapter of the FAPUASA also demanded that powers pertaining to higher education be transferred from the Governor of Sindh to the Chief Minister in the light of the 18th amendment. The association’s president, Naimatullah Laghari, said that the governor should not intrude in the educational affairs of Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2012.