Urdu University exams back on as teachers end boycott

KARACHI: Teachers' associations at the Federal Urdu University have withdrawn their boycott of the examination process, saying they took the step in the interest of students, while maintaining their protest campaign against the vice chancellor.

The decision was made at a joint meeting of teachers' bodies from both campuses held on Thursday at the Science Campus auditorium. In a joint statement, Abdul Haq Campus Teachers' Association Secretary Dr Iqbal Naqvi and Science Campus Secretary Iftikhar Tahiri said the examination boycott had been called off in the larger interest of students.

According to the statement, the decision came after the Higher Education Commission formed a committee to examine the university administration's performance. The teachers also welcomed what they described as a high-powered inquiry committee constituted by the HEC on the directions of Federal Education Minister and Pro-Chancellor Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui to review decisions taken during the tenure of Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zabita Khan Shinwari.

Protest to continue

Despite ending the exam boycott, the teachers said their movement against the vice chancellor would continue until their demands were accepted. They called for the VC to be held answerable and said the protest would go on until all demands were met.

The meeting voiced serious concern over what the teachers described as an acute financial and administrative crisis at the university, the vice chancellor's continued absence, and alleged harassment of female faculty members. Resolutions adopted at the meeting held the current vice chancellor solely responsible for what participants termed the worsening financial, administrative and ethical crisis at the institution.

The teachers further said the vice chancellor had failed to resolve the university's financial and administrative difficulties.

"If the vice chancellor does not possess the capability to address these issues, he should immediately step down from his office without wasting the time of the university, students, faculty and support staff," the meeting said.

The associations also demanded that the findings and recommendations of the newly formed HEC committee, along with those of earlier panels, be placed before the relevant forums and implemented without delay.