Special
SAT Report
KARACHI:
Have you heard of any World Bank reforms which may send University
teachers to jail? Precisely this is what is happening in Pakistan's
premier University at Karachi where, none else but its own Vice Chancellor,
has moved in a court that eight teachers and one staff member be sent
to jail and their properties attached.
KU
has over 12,000 students in 42 departments and institutes and is the
biggest university of the country. To get World Bank money, the government
wants to right-size its staff, raise fees and reduce expenses through
reforms. Karachi University Teacher's Society (KUTS) is an elected
body with over 450 members. It has 21 Executive Council members and
6 office bearers. It is a usual run-of-the-mill sort of association
of university teachers.
In January
this year the KU administration began its attack on the teachers.
The present Vice Chancellor, Prof Zafar Said Saify, took charge after
the death of Prof Zafar Zaidi in Jan 2001. Saify is a university professor
and was initially a weak VC. He tried to strengthen his seat by appointing
a military Registrar in July 2001 but had to sack the guy after a
day of protest by KU teachers.
Saify
began to reassert late last year. Initially chairs of departments
were sacked and people of his choice were appointed. In March came
the news that a Task Force for Improvement of Higher Education wasbeing
formed by the military government on the advice of the World-Bank,
similar to the ones set up in South Africa, Brazil and Indonesia.
The aim
was to right-size the varsities, sack teachers, bring a contract system,
remove all representation of teachers from statutory bodies like Syndicate,
Academic Council and Senate and replace these with nominated bodies,
increase the fees and create a three-tier system, change syllabus,
focus on science and technology and marginalize social sciences and
the arts.
KUTS
opposed the reforms saying the whole package was designed to transform
the administration and governance of public varsities into private
ones. In June over 300 teachers gathered and rejected the Task Force
Report. The administration retaliated by increasing its attacks on
teachers and staff. More were removed from positions, meetings of
teachers with VC were made impossible, elected members of Syndicate
and other teachers were given show cause notices for pointing out
irregularities in budget etc, pay was deducted from staff coming late
on duties, spies roamed around checking 'wrongdoings' and snooping
on opponents. The University turned into a prisoners camp.
The KUTS
called a General Body meeting but the matter was taken to court. On
July 16 Judge Leghari of Sindh High Court gave the verdict that the
administration should not interfere with the activities of teachers.
But the order was ignored. It circulated a notice saying that those
attending the meeting will be held under contempt. The meeting went
ahead with over 200 attending.
On August
2 a seminar against the Task Force was held at Karachi Press Club.
Representatives of Kar Press Club, Karachi Union of Journalists, Parents,
and veteran teachers and activists including Dr Zafar Arif, Prof Zakarya
Sajid, Shahnawaz Farooqi, Prof Riaz Ahsan attended. Mr Sabihuddin
Ghousi spoke against the Task Force reforms. This was followed on
Aug 6 by a walk by over 1500 teachers, students and staff. The movement
continued.
But the KU administration remained adamant. Joined by the military
Government it is using all resources to entangle teachers into an
campaign of harassment so that they cannot fight-back. Sackings, show-causes
notices, circulation of confidential letters has become a norm. Over
100 non-teaching staff have been sacked so far in the 'downsizing
drive. Teachers are vilified in the press on concocted charges. Seniors
are denied chairpersonship and favorites appointed.
KU Syndicate
elections were scheduled for Aug 21 and 29. Seeing unity the admin
postponed the elections after rejecting all nomination papers on the
pretext that the candidates have not filed 'undertaking that they
and their family will not take part in politics'. The undertaking
is a recent invention of the admin which wants to apply Civil Service
Conduct Rules on teachers and staff so as to deny them any right to
organize and protest. The contempt case, filed on July 24 for violating
the court orders of July 16 by holding the General Body Meeting on
July17 is yet anohther attempt to gag the teachers.
Eight
teachers including 2 elected and 2 former members of the syndicate,
General Secretary, Vice President, Treasurer, female Joint Secretary
and a Executive Council member have been charged with contempt and
the VC has asked the courts to send them to prison.
Demanding
imprisonment of serving teachers is uncivilized and least expected
of a academic institution. But Pakistan is not under a civilized regime
and hence nothing should shock the civilized world.
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