Karachi University teachers boycott classes over non-payment of arrears
Sep 22, 2023
Karachi [Pakistan], September 22 : Amid the economic crisis in Pakistan, the Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) announced it would stage a strike for an indefinite period from Friday over the non-payment of dues, reported Geo News.
The teachers' society has announced the protest as they have not received their payments for over a year now.
KUTS Secretary Faizan-ul-Hassan Naqvi said that the strike will continue for an unspecified time until the teacher's body takes further decisions, reported Geo News.
According to Naqvi, the KU's budget has not been approved for the past four years.
Hence, it affected the academic and research work at the university.
“The teachers in the evening programme have not been paid their arrears for the past one-and-a-half years, while the permanent faculty members are yet to receive the increment announced in the provincial government’s budget four months ago,” he said.
The authorities have also reduced the salary of visiting faculty and are not even paying that on time.
“The visiting faculty are being hired at a rate of Rs 600 per lecture, which after deduction is reduced to Rs 480. Even this is not being paid," he added.
Additionally, the facilities at KU are in a horrible condition which clearly signifies mismanagement of the administration.
Naqvi further lamented that the students were moving towards private universities as these problems in the public sector surged, according to Geo News.
Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, the KUTS held a general body meeting at the art auditorium. During the meeting, they passed a resolution to boycott all academic activities at the university until further notice.
Moreover, it also endorsed the teacher's strike in the evening programme of the university, which has been going on since September 14, according to Geo News.
The meeting further demanded the Sindh governor and te chief minister take this crisis under consideration and form a commission to probe its causes.
