Karachi: The upcoming Senate meeting of the Federal Urdu University, scheduled for September 17, has already become mired in controversy even before it takes place.
According to reports, the Federal Ministry of Education has raised objections to holding the meeting at this stage. The ministry has formally requested the Chancellor’s Secretariat at the Presidency to postpone the session until the inquiry report regarding the university’s governance and administrative affairs is finalized. A letter sent to the presidency confirmed that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has already formed a committee to investigate these complaints.
Sources revealed that the vice chancellor has tasked an acting Senate member with reaching out to other members to persuade them to attend the meeting. It is worth recalling that the last scheduled Senate meeting on September 3 was abruptly postponed due to a lack of quorum.
Faculty and staff at the university have been grappling with severe financial difficulties during the current vice chancellor’s tenure of one and a half years. Salaries are often delayed by up to two months, the house ceiling allowance has been suspended for the past 12 months, and pensions have not been paid for nearly four months.
Treasury sources disclosed that retirement benefits have not been settled since 2019. At the same time, the vice chancellor has reportedly fixed his own salary above the HEC’s prescribed scale without obtaining mandatory approval from the president of Pakistan. The move has raised legal concerns, particularly as the vice chancellor seeks Senate approval for his salary even before the ongoing inquiries are concluded.
