KU: where it stands today

Karachi

Large classes with an average of 60 students to every teacher have become the hallmark of the University of Karachi (KU), the biggest university in Pakistan.

“It has become a government department,” lamented a senior professor in the Arts faculty. He complained that teachers enjoy the perks of the job, collect salaries, and often do not take their first class. “Non-teaching staff do not reach their offices before 9.30 am,” he said.

KU was established in 1951 and housed in a few dilapidated buildings in a congested area of Karachi before being shifted to the present campus spread over an area of 1,200 acres in 1960. From 1951 to 1975, Vice-Chancellors (VCs) Abubakr Ahmed Haleem, Professor Bashir Ahmed Hashmi, Dr Ishtiaq Hussain Quraishi, and Dr Mahmud Hussain enabled this centre of learning to turn into what became to known as one of the leading universities in the sub-continent.

Today the university has over 22,000 students and more than 500 teachers. However, the standard of education is no longer what it was, which people have blamed on a variety of reasons. The hiring of cooperative teachers is one of them. Dr Abid Hasnain, secretary of the Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS), feels the process is a sham. “I know of several cases where a candidate with a first-class academic career was not considered, while others with ordinary academic credentials were selected,” he said.

Cooperative teachers are selected by the chairperson of the department concerned and two senior professors. They have a renewable contract lasting for six months. The university also advertises for lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors and professors. Lecturers and assistant professors are selected by a board comprising the VC, two members of the KU Syndicate, a nominee of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), chairperson of the department concerned, and two subject specialists.

The requirements for

associate professors are a PhD, a minimum of 10 years of experience, and eight research papers published in national or international journals. For a professor, the requirements are a PhD, 15 years of experience, and the publication of 15 research papers. The files for the associate professors and professors are sent to foreign referees for approval before the appointment is finalised. The HEC only recently introduced the PhD requirements.

Teachers are promoted via selection boards in the university, although the process allegedly makes room for personal likes and dislikes. They are now paid higher salaries than in the past. A lecturer is placed in grade 18, an assistant professor in grade 19, associate professor in grade 20, and a professor is in grade 21. Many teachers prefer to take classes in the evening programme, as these are relatively highly paid. Many also teach at private universities where, unlike at KU, they must be punctual.

The admissions process goes through the Admission Committee constituted by the KU Academic Council. The Committee has a convener, usually the dean of a faculty, Director of Admissions, 10 to 12 members from different departments. The number of seats in every class is decided by the department concerned. The number of students applying is always higher, as many who cannot afford private universities opt for KU.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Akhlaq Ahmed refuted the idea that the university is producing graduates who are unable to get the jobs. He pointed out that the graduates of the departments of Applied Chemistry, Food Science, Technology, Physiology, Pharmacy, among others, are sought after by industries. Ahmed acknowledged that some social sciences departments are not quite job-oriented but stressed the importance of subjects such as literature and philosophy. “We have to teach the disciplines that might not be money-getters but are important for the society. It is the duty of society and the government to open job vistas for such graduates,” he said.

Dr Shahana Urooj Kazmi, dean of the faculty of science, also rejected the idea that KU graduates find it difficult to land jobs. She listed several departments where graduates got attractive job offers, such as Economics, English, Mass Communication, Sociology and International Relations, and Business Administration and Public Administration and Human Resource Management in the faculty of management sciences.