Teachers at the University of Karachi have been divided into two groups over a call to boycott classes and examinations, resulting in partial disruption of semester exams across faculties.
The Karachi University Teachers’ Society had on Tuesday announced a boycott of semester examinations in protest against the non-payment of the house rent ceiling allowance. However, examinations in the Arts and Commerce faculties were held as per schedule, while in the Science faculty only some departments conducted exams. At the Faculty of Pharmacy, examinations were completely boycotted as teachers refused to invigilate.
The disruption caused significant inconvenience to thousands of students, who faced difficulties appearing in exams amid intense heat. According to the teachers’ body, protests had been ongoing for the past two weeks over the house rent ceiling and other demands. The university administration, however, maintained that the allowance issue involves objections from federal and provincial higher education authorities as well as from audit authorities, and should be resolved through dialogue rather than disrupting examinations.
