PU teachers boycott classes, stage protest

LAHORE: A number of Punjab University (PU) teachers boycotted their classes on the call of PU Academic Staff Association (PUASA) and protested outside the office of Vice-Chancellor for the acceptance of their demands on Thursday.

Of 1,000 plus faculty members, less than 50 teachers were seen in the protest outside the VC office. Those who attended the demo included Academic Staff Association (ASA) office-bearers as well as members of the PU Senate, Syndicate and heads of various departments.

Speaking on the occasion, PUASA President Dr Azhar Naeem, Secretary Dr Amjad Abbas Magsi, Syndicate members Dr Sardar Asghar Iqbal and Dr M Islam said that legitimate demands of teachers had been pending for a long time. They alleged that the Vice Chancellor was constantly refusing to accept the very legitimate and legal demands of the teachers. They demanded that the decisions of the PU Senate and the Syndicate be implemented in their true spirit. During this time, many methods of peaceful protest were adopted but university administration did not pay heed to teachers' demands. At the previous general body meeting, ASA had set out a protest strategy. A black day was also observed in all campuses of Punjab University with teachers wearing black armbands.

They said that the administration adopted a dictatorial approach and tried to thwart Thursday's boycott. They added despite this, teachers in Jhelum, Gujranwala, Old Campus New Campus boycotted classes on Thursday as a protest. PUASA President Dr Azhar Naeem, who is also FPUASA Punjab President, said that a joint press conference of PUASA and FPUASA would be held soon outside the Vice Chancellor's Office in which the future course of action will be announced and the scope of protest will be expanded to universities across the Punjab province. The elected representatives of teachers also demanded an audit of university budget and all appointments made during the last four years.

Meanwhile, a PU spokesperson said that the teachers from all the campuses overwhelmingly rejected the protest call given by PUASA to boycott classes as all the activities of the university were held as per routine.