Education comes to a halt

Teachers of all major public sector universities across the country are observing a strike today (Tuesday) against the government’s failure to release its promised funds to the HEC.

The call for strike was given by the Universities Academic Staff Association.

The government had committed on September 23 to revert its decision of cutting the HEC budget. It had directed the Finance Ministry to release Rs15 billion on a quarterly basis. However, the government has failed to fulfil its commitment of releasing funds to the HEC within a week.

Attempting to allay the concerns of an angry alliance of faculty members of 72 universities who had threatened to go on strike following the government's failure to release the promised funds, the government moved to pay Rs1.2 billion which the commission needed to pay university staff salaries for the first quarter of the current financial year. The HEC however refused to budge saying that the money was not enough to make it call off its strike for Tuesday.

In Sindh, a complete strike was observed in Sindh University, Karachi University, Mehran university and Agriculture university Tando Jam.

In Punjab, a strike was observed in Punjab University, GC university Faisalabad, Bahauddin Zakria University Multan and Islamia University Bahawalpur.

University teachers and staff association of Balochistan also expressed solidarity with the cause.

Black flags could be seen hoisted at fourteen universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking to Express 24/7 correspondent Shaheryar Mirza, Prof Abid Hasnain, President of the Karachi University Teachers Society said the matter was not about salaries but about a larger issue of wanting the  government to start giving more importance to education. “Our demand is that these cuts should not be made on education or health, and the total grants should be released so that the universities can run. We are continuing the strike, because the amount of Rs1.15 billion which has been released is not enough. Our demand is that the total allocation for a quarter must be released which is Rs3.2 billion.”

He said today's was a one-day token strike and that any announcement for another strike would be made by the federation.