With the eight-month-old confrontation between the University of Sindh (SU) teachers and their vice chancellor dragging on, the university has invited the Sindhi nationalist leaders and civil society members to probe allegations against Dr Nazir A Mughal.
“If the allegations are proven, the vice chancellor will resign; but if they aren’t then the cabal of teachers should leave the university,” said SU Registrar Muhammad Nawaz Narejo at a press conference on Saturday.
The proposal for the commission evidently comes in reaction to the support given to the teachers by the Save Sindh University and Education Committee. On August 27, the committee submitted a memorandum to the vice chancellor’s office, urging Mughal to gracefully relinquish his post. The memorandum listed 15 charges against him, ranging from corruption to nepotism and failing to control violence at the campus.
While the registrar welcomed a politician- and civil society-led probe, he did not welcome a court’s involvement. “It will unnecessarily prolong the matter,” Narejo replied when asked why the university could not wait for the Sindh High Court’s verdict on the teachers’ petition.
Narejo also brushed aside criticism of the security at the campus, which has allowed six murders since Mughal joined the university. “More killings occur in Karachi daily, but the chief minister or the Sindh police chief don’t resign,” he retorted.
Since January, the university management and the teachers have been at loggerheads following the killing of Prof. Bashir Channar on campus. The Sindh University Teachers Association (SUTA) demanded Mughal’s resignation, but he was sent on forced leave. His return on June 29 sparked renewed protests by the teaching staff. The teachers associations plan to stage a sit-in on the Karachi-Hyderabad superhighway on September 4. SUTA’s secretary Dr Arfana Mallah says the charges of bias against the Save Sindh University and Education Committee are an attempt to discredit them. “We blamed Mughal for corruption in writing,” she said while talking to The Express Tribune. “If he is honest, he can take us to court for defaming him publicly.”
Mallah believes that the SU administration is under pressure. According to her, Sindh Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq visited the university on Friday and met Mughal. She also fears, however, that Mughal will attempt to make their September 4 demonstration a violent event. The education committee and teachers plan to begin the sit-in after 2pm when the classes are over.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2012.
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