KU teachers’ association to meet today and devise future plan of action. ILLUSTRATION: JAMAL KHURSHID
Soon after the Sindh Assembly slipped in an amendments to the universities acts along with its controversial local government law, the universities in Sindh began to fear the consequences of the new act.
All public-sector universities are afraid that the latest amendment, which gives more power to the provincial government in university affairs, will politicise these institutions even further.
For Karachi University Teachers Society’s president, Dr Mutahir Ahmed, the newly enacted Sindh Universities Law (Amendment) Bill, 2013, betrays the fundamental concept of a university, which allows them to exercise a great deal of autonomy in their academic and administrative affairs with help of democratically elected statutory bodies, senate and syndicate.
“The executive committee of the KU teachers’ society concluded on Wednesday that this amendment bill is a measure to usurp the autonomy of universities by rendering all the internal statutory bodies worthless,” Dr Ahmed told The Express Tribune. “These amendments will end up politicising almost all academic and administrative affairs.”
These amendments render the administrative posts, including that of the vice-chancellor, redundant, he said. “The most a vice-chancellor will be able to do is appoint lower-level staff, clerks and janitors.”
The teachers’ society, in view of serious reservations on the newly enacted bill, has called an emergency meeting of its general body today (Friday) to draw up a joint strategy. The meeting will be followed by a meeting with the Sindh chapter of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations on August 29, following which teachers will present their joint demands.
Even the teachers who were struggling to reform the outmoded laws regulating government universities took this amendment as a blow to their endeavours. They have particularly been irked by the way the universities’ syndicates are shorn of their appointment authority. “While we welcome certain provisions, the law has done more damage than good,” said Dr Azhar Ali Shah, Sindh University Teachers Association general secretary.
For the teachers, the law has usurped the syndicate’s authority to appoint the registrar, the controller of exams, chief accountant and other officials down to the rank of BPS-16. “This will, in fact, politicise the university administration and, consequently, the whole academia.”
Dr Shah met Sindh law minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro last month and put forward his recommendations to improve the law. But he was surprised that Mandhro did not inform him that such a law with largely counterproductive provisions was on the anvil. “We wanted the law to lay down a transparent procedure to appoint vice-chancellors, transfer NOC issuance authority from the governor to the VCs and set up a depoliticised syndicate, besides other reforms,” he explained.
Dr Arshad Memon, general secretary of the teachers association at Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, said the representatives from all the government universities will meet in the coming days to formulate a response.
Nevertheless, the teachers appreciate the new admissions policy, which will provide equal opportunity to students from the 22 districts of Sindh to get enrolled in Karachi universities.
Meanwhile, upholding the status of universities as higher seats of learning was something the University of Karachi vice-chancellor, Prof. Dr Muhammad Qaiser, insisted on. “Their autonomy should not be undermined in any way.”
The newly enacted law states the university’s admission policy will be decided by the government instead of the university’s academic council, which is a matter of concern, he pointed out. “What was the purview of the university’s statutory bodies in deciding their internal affairs in a free and fair manner, this new law appears to chip away at this very practice.”
NED University of Engineering and Technology vice-chancellor Prof. Dr Afzalul Haque agreed. “I do not know how this can happen and what the actual motives are,” Dr Haque said, appearing surprised at the contents of the bill. “It is like degrading the higher seats of learning to the level of schools and colleges by enforcing an authoritarian rule.”
According to him, the amendments will end up disintegrating governance at universities. “When universities will have no say in matters pertaining to admissions and appointments above grade 16, then there is no point in calling them universities.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2013.
COMMENTS (10)
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Being a faculty member of university of karachi, with all responsibilities, I can say that 90% of professors, deans of faculties, registrar, the majority of the administration staff, pro-vice chancellor and vice chancellor - all are politicized already. Not a single appointment for top positions of KU is made without a political influence. There is extreme amount of corruption in majority of the departments and in administration. Different groups of the Teacher's society, do nothing but politics. I can even go on to say that the teachers of KU have forgotten what is their real duty is. They have made KU a place for earning money, nothing more than that. In this situation, what is the difference if the amendment is approved? It will only shift the influence from MQM to PPP.
i support the bill as for as the appointing authority of VC is concerned. Mr. Sami rasool and Dr Mahfooz Somro are missing a point. According to the new bill all financial and administrative authorities have been taken away from VC and other universities bodies. it has never happend in any university of the world. if all clauses of this bill are implemented then very soon the standard of Karachi University, IBA Dow medical college and NED will be at the same level of Sindh University. in the tussle of Sindhi and Mahagir now we are going to destroy the remaining academic institutes of Sindh
It seems in Pakistan, politics in the root of all evil: the only solution will be when PMLN, PPP, MQM and other corrupt parties with proven corruption records are banned to operate in Pakistan.
when in all three provinces of country universities are under the authority of CM then why not in Sindh ???
@ Asif Butt I agree with your comments. The Vice Chancellors in the Universities of Sindh were extremely politicized since they worked under the agenda of MQM. It is unimaginable that people who retired 12 years ago were given 3 extensions, against the Supreme Court rulings but since they worked with MQM agenda, the Sindh Governor kept extending their term against the Supreme Court rulings.
This new University Law will do away with such corrupt practices, which were carried in Sindh with disregard to Supreme Court rulings and with impunity.
The author of this article looks biased and prejudiced.
PPP bent on destroying everything in Karachi (& urban Sindh) from development work to economics, from police to education.
p.s. they've made progress in a few areas though like target killing, kidnapping for ransom and extortion (bhatta)
People who cannot even run primary schools now want to run universities. It is the university land they are after.
This new governance system is complete nonsense. The universities should be governed by the VC of the university and the democatric government should not get involved in the affairs of the university as they have many other thing to look after. The provincial government should take care of more serious issues and get things inorder first or else they will end up destroying the whole higher education system of the province like thay have disturbed all other departements in the last few years. Although equal opportunity for addmissions from all 22 districts of Sindh in the universties of Karachi is higly appricated.
@Asif Butt, right now only student bodies are politicized, not the official body (There might be indirect influence of parties due to their supporters working, but this will allow them to directly interfere)
As if universities are educationally very pure and free of any politics of their own...