Varsity teachers’ association vows to continue protest

HYDERABAD:

University teachers announced on Monday to continue the protest to win back the autonomy of public sector universities in the face the provincial government's strong-arm tactics.

The protest will include suspension of academic activities in all varsities and protests outside the Sindh Assembly.

"We will not stop [the movement] until the government accepts our demands and withdraws from encroaching upon the universities' freedom," declared Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) Sindh president Dr Usman Ali Shah at a press conference in Hyderabad.

Ali said that the teachers will stage a sit-in outside the Sindh Assembly on May 29 after the general body meeting of Fapuasa's Sindh chapter. A second general body meeting and subsequent sit-in outside Zardari House in Benazirabad will take place on May 30. And on June 2, the teachers will surround the Jillani House; the residence of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in Khairpur district.

The latest reaction has been triggered by the Sindh government's exercise of authority to appoint officials on administrative posts in the universities. The government advertised vacancies on Sunday of the Basic Pay Scale-20 posts of registrar, controller and finance director for 20 public sector universities in the province.  However, Fapuasa provincial office bearers and the presidents of the teachers associations from nine government universities, who were gathered at a hall of the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, condemned the move.

"This is a usurpation of the powers of universities' syndicates and will have repercussions since political influence on these officers will grow immensely," said Dr Ali. "The government also breached its promise of desisting from making these appointments."

Fapuasa general-secretary Muhammad Moiz Khan also condemned the provincial government for breaking their trust. "They made us believe that we are being listened to," he said. "Provincial minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro, MNA Faryal Talpur and MNA Nafeesa Shah all assured us that the law will be amended."

According to Khan, they last met with Mandhro on April 14 and he promised the amendments will be made within two weeks. "Ironically, we are fighting to protect the autonomy of universities, which the Pakistan Peoples Party's founding leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave in 1972, and now his own party is going against his vision."

Fapuasa's executive committee member Dr Arfana Mallah, who also represents the Sindh University Teachers' Association, expressed concerns that the government may pressurise the teachers' leaders into stopping the protests. "We will not let the government sell the posts of registrars and controllers the way they sell police stations to SHOs," said Dr Mallah. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2014.