KARACHI: The University of Karachi is on the verge of closing entirely as a result of the non-teaching staff on campus going on an indefinite pen-down strike starting on Monday (today) and continuing until the varsity administration agrees to their demands. This is all happening during a week-long teachers’ boycott of evening classes.
A portion of campus academic activities have been stopped since April 22 as a result of the teachers’ boycott of KU’s evening classes. Their demands include payment for unpaid medical expenses, payment for encashment of leave, and payment for lessons that have been postponed for more than a year.
At their general body meeting a few days ago at the Chinese Teachers Memorial Auditorium, the Employees’ Welfare Association of the KU (EWAKU) and all representative organizations declared that they will begin a pen-down strike on Monday.
Senior KU teachers told Dawn that Monday’s academic and administrative activities will probably be suspended entirely as a result of the non-teaching staff’s boycott.
Workers’ union declares that the strike will go on forever, and teachers have already stopped teaching in the evenings.
They claimed that because the management had consistently ignored the complaints of the staff, there was a significant level of dissatisfaction on campus.
Additionally, they thought that the non-teaching staff strike would increase pressure on the Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) to declare a total boycott of school-related activities.
Prof. Shah Aliul Qadr, president of Kuts, stated, “This decision would be taken up by teachers in the upcoming general body to be held this week after the elections on the two seats (each) of the KU senate and syndicate.”
Irfan Khan, the association’s head, presided over the general assembly meeting of non-teaching staff in the meantime.
The demands of the workers included paying salaries and leave encashment to employees of the Center of Excellence in Marine Biology (CEMB), releasing funds for unpaid bills related to academic and medical purposes, and approving the promotion of more than 600 staff members that had been waiting for four years.
All of the staff members agreed to cease carrying out their administrative, academic, and testing responsibilities until their demands were met.
Thus far, our discussions with the university administration have yielded no clear results. While addressing the participants on the negotiations made with the university administration, Association spokesman Mohammad Shahid stated that the administration isn’t even prepared to pay for the dues for which they have received monies from the Higher Education Commission.
An employees’ group representative, Shakeel Gabol, urged the attendance to stay together as he held the administration responsible for the institution’s “worst ever financial crisis.”
The three-month walkout by CEMB employees over unpaid salary and pensions persisted in the meantime.
