Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) Sindh Chapter, in continuation of their protest, organised a rally and press conference in Hyderabad, where hundreds of teachers, officers and employees demanded budget increase, bailout package, and disparity reduction allowance.
“Universities in Sindh are breathing their last due to severe negligence of the government, we protested at Sukkur, Nawabshah and today we are here in Hyderabad, our next protest will be in Karachi,” said FAPUASA Sindh Chapter President Liaqat Ali Tunio.
“These hundreds of teachers, officers, and employees in Hyderabad were asking the current government of Sindh that why higher education had been neglected? If this continued, universities would collapse, and we shall not let that happen,” said Asif Hussain Samo.
All Sindh Universities Employees Federation and Sindh Universities Officers Federation also joined the protest. Many teachers, officers, employees, and social activists gathered to voice their concerns and grievance on the financial crisis of universities in Sindh.
FAPUASA’s rally went from Sindh University Model School to Press Club Hyderabad and was followed by a press conference, in which FAPUASA leadership reiterated their three demands; increase in the annual budget of all universities, bailout package for universities and on the precedent of federal and Punjab governments, grant of disparity reduction allowance to the employees of universities (Grade 1 to 22).
A large number of university employees, under the leadership of Qalandar Bux Bozdar, joined the protest of the FAPUASA Sindh Chapter and they stated that they would continue their march along with the teachers until the demands were met. Officers also gathered in large numbers to support FAPUASA Sindh Chapter in their struggle to save the universities of Sindh. They said that if these three demands were not met, then teachers, officers, and employees would not have an option to continue their protest.
The leadership of the FAPUSA Sindh Chapter stated that the government’s negligence was threatening the careers of thousands of students and the employment of thousands of teachers, officers, and employees.
FAPUASA Sindh Chapter announced that if the demands were not met, the next protest would be in Karachi in the coming week, which would be the biggest protest so far. Even if we were compelled, they would stage a sit-in front of the Provincial Assembly in Karachi.
