Varsity teachers boycott classes

HYDERABAD: The university teachers boycotted classes in Sindh University and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) in Jamshoro and Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, on Thursday on the call of Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA).

FAPUASA has given the call for a 4-day boycott of teaching at all the public sector universities in Sindh excluding the medical universities.

The association has been protesting against the vice chancellor of Sindh University while the call for suspension of academic activities was given after termination of jobs of President Sindh University Teachers Association (SUTA) Dr Azhar Ali Shah and General Secretary Arfana Mallah.

Meanwhile, SUTA on Thursday took out a protest march from Zero Point to the residence of vice chancellor and later the administration block where they staged a sit-in.

Arfana Mallah while addressing the protesters reiterated that their protests which have been continuing since January 2 after the killing of Prof (Retd) Bashir Channar would last until the VC was removed.

"We also want the university to lift ban on the student unions and bring private security system on the line of LUMHS and MUET to maintain peace in the campus," she said.

A heavy deployment of police and rangers was in place to avoid any untoward incident.

They called for withdrawal of the termination orders against Shah and Mallah along with the show cause notices issued to 7 other teachers.

Dr Arshad Memon, General Secretary of Mehran University Teachers Association (MUTA), told APP that although the students reached the university in the morning but they returned in point buses within an hour.