"We come to college daily but there are no classes," said a student sitting on the floor in the courtyard. "Hopefully, the issue will be resolved soon and classes will resume by tomorrow or Monday," she added.
Another student of MBBS final year told The Express Tribune that the students were coming to college daily since Tuesday but teachers were not conducting classes to protest the non-disbursement of their salaries since May. "The teachers have told the students that they will resume classes only when their salaries are disbursed," he said.
Prof Nargis Anjum who holds the charge of the college principal in the absence of Prof Waqar Kazmi, who is on leave, refused to reveal anything about the matter until Monday. She admitted, however, that they had some issue with salaries that were almost resolved after meetings with teachers and other relevant authorities.
A senior teacher of the college told The Express Tribune that after the three-day strike, the Sindh governor had taken notice of the issue and summoned the principal to inquire about the issue.
"Teachers cannot take to the streets to protest. The only way for us to make our voices heard is through boycotting academic activities," said a teacher. He pointed out that there was a complete academic shutdown at the college since Tuesday - a decision that was backed by all faculty members.
After a meeting with the authorities, the governor has ordered the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to resolve the issue immediately and disburse the teachers' salaries without further delay.
Meanwhile, the KMC administration signed the letter for the release of salaries late on Thursday night. With the salaries now disbursed, the classes are likely to be resumed today.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, who also holds the additional charge of KMC administrator, confirmed that the teachers' salaries for the months of May and June have been released.
Commenting on the teachers' strike and boycott of classes, he said this should not happen in any college or university. "I would have taken action against it if I had been informed about this before," said Siddiqui. "Making students suffer due to dispute between teachers and the administration is not the solution," he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 29th, 2015.
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