Islamabad: Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has asked the students to vacate the hostels by July 13 and officially suspended its Summer Semester 2025 also following a unanimous decision taken in a recent meeting attended by deans, chairmen, and directors.
The move comes in the wake of prolonged campus protests and a worsening financial crisis, which university officials say have made it impossible to conduct academic session. The university cited a severe shortage of time caused by over six weeks of disruptions led by illegal ethnic councils, declared unlawful under Pakistani law as the main reason behind the suspension, the meeting observed.
In lieu of the summer session, the QAU has announced a summer break till August 31. The administration is concerned over the deteriorating academic environment, declining admissions and the rising influence of unauthorised regional and ethnic student groups. Acting Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences Dr Zafar Nawaz Jaspal has said that running hostels alone during this period would cost QAU nearly Rs44 million per month.
“The financial strain is untenable,” he added. President of the Academic Staff Association (ASA) Dr Mazhar Iqbal endorsed the decision calling it “necessary to realign the academic calendar and restore some order.” He criticised lax enforcement of academic rules, citing that students were allowed to sit for exams without fulfilling attendance or fee requirements. There’s no implementation of Discipline Committee’s decisions, unchecked entry and exit points and a growing number of theft incidents in hostels and faculty housing colonies.
According to hostels Provost’s report, the university faces a monthly hostel service deficit of over Rs44 million during the semester, and Rs64 million during holidays resulting in an annual loss exceeding Rs572 million. This comes without any government subsidies.
The Acting VC in a letter to faculty has reported illegal operation of around 180 air-conditioners installed by students in the hostels. It may be noted that the recent VCs have failed to remove the same. So much so that a student leader “constructed” a room at his own in the corridor of a hostel using cement blocks and no administrative authority in QAU so far dared to stop him.
This is not only damaging the property but also tarnishing the reputation of QAU as an institution and increasing the burden on the meagre resources of the university. The only way QAU could implement its decisions is backing of district administration. Now it is a test case for the local administration also.
Dr Anwar Iqbal Shaheen, a retired Professor of QAU, analysing the state of affairs in public sector universities, QAU in particular, said that repeated appointment of incompetent vice-chancellors can have severe and long-lasting consequences for a university, damaging its reputation, credibility and overall functioning. Unfortunately, he said, QAU experienced this firsthand, with poor leadership leading to a decline in academic excellence, mismanagement and a loss of trust among faculty, students and stakeholders.
He also observed that poor decision-making by incompetent VCs led to financial waste and infrastructural decay. Funds are often misallocated, critical projects are delayed and essential facilities deteriorated. Instead of investing in modern labs, libraries and faculty development, resources are squandered due to inefficiency and short-sighted planning, he added.
