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PU teachers say VC should be one of them
LAHORE, April 25(Daily Times): The Punjab University Academic Staff
Association's (PUASA) general body unanimously passed a resolution in its
meeting held on Tuesday demanding that the university's vice chancellor be
appointed from among senior teachers and not retired army
generals.
Senior PU professors who attended the meeting said that the participants of the meeting also expressed solidarity with the chief
justice of Pakistan (CJP). They said the meeting formed a committee that would
invite the CJP to address the PU faculty. Some senior professors said that in
the meeting, a large number of teachers expressed concern over the varsity's
"deteriorating standards". They said the teachers also criticised the government
for the prevailing judicial crisis and expressed solidarity with CJP Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry.
A professor said that the PU faculty had
been against the VC for a long time since he was not one of them. He said the
teachers of the university had observed a month-long strike when Lt Gen (r)
Arshad Mehmood was appointed as vice chancellor of the Punjab University in
1999.
Professors said the meeting criticised the PU administration for
withdrawing the summary regarding upgrading of teaching posts. They said the
teachers demanded that the decisions of the PU Syndicate and the Senate on the
issue be implemented.
PUASA president Dr Mumtaz Ahmed Salik said the association had been demanding for a long time that the VC should be a
senior faculty member and not a retired army general. However, he said, this was
the first time that a unanimous resolution to this effect was passed in the
PUASA general body meeting.
Salik said the CJP would be invited to
address the PU faculty at the Faisal Auditorium. He said a ten-days notice was
given to the administration regarding upgrading of the varsity's teaching posts.
He said all universities had upgraded their teachers except PU. He said if the
teaching posts were not upgraded within ten days, another general body meeting
of the association would be called to chalk out a course of action to tackle the
situation.
Salik added that the general body also criticised the Higher
Education Commission (HEC) for withholding PU grants over the plagiarism issue.
He said the teachers observed that the commission was threatening and
blackmailing the university. They said the HEC was also challenging the autonomy
of universities. He said a resolution was also passed demanding the release of
PU funds. However, some senior professors said the meeting had not voiced a
unanimous criticism of the HEC. They said some teachers had even criticised the
PUASA for not being active in solving the teachers' problems
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