Islamabad - Academic Staff Association (ASA) of International Islamic University (IIUI) on Sunday announced to launch protest against deferment of teacher seat at Board of Governors (BoG) of the institution.

The protest will not be limited to the symbolic wearing of black arm bands but also include boycott of classes until the seat of teachers at BoG is restored, said an ASA representative.

Teachers of International Islamic University will wear black arm bands for a week to protest against non-representation of teachers in university’s Board of Governors (BOG) or Syndicate. No BoG meeting will be allowed to be held in future until teachers are given their just representation in it, he told The Nation.

This, he said, was decided in a general body meeting of the Academic Staff Association. The Meeting was chaired by ASA President Professor Dr Abdul Jalil while Vice President Dr. Faiz ur Rahim, General Secretary Dr Shehzad Ashraf Chaudhary, other office bearers of ASA and teachers participated in it it. President academic staff association Prof. Dr. Abdul Jalil informed the participants that after the protest of ASA last year, the University authorities approved one seat of professor in BoG but the board of trustees deferred this issue.

“ The Board of Trustees meeting was held last week after a gap of seven years, which means we will have to wait for another seven years to get approval of teachers’ representation from the Board of Trustees,” said Dr Abdul Jalil.

He condemned the deferment of one approved seat of professor in BOG by Board of Trustees and told the participants that condemnation letters in this regard have been written to university President and Rector. “We believe these are delaying tactics and such delaying tactics by the university authorities about teachers’ representation in BoG will not be tolerated,” Dr Abdul Jalil pronounced.

ASA General Secretary Dr Shehzad Ashraf Chaudhary while addressing the participants said that varsity authorities are not ready to give teachers their legal and just representation in the all important decision making forum of the university. Dr Shehzad said that, in all public sector universities of Pakistan, at least four elected teachers i.e. a professor, an associate professor, an assistant professor and a lecturer are given representation in their decision making forums like board of governors or syndicate.

In future no BOG meeting will be allowed to be held in the university without teachers’ representation in it. From tomorrow teachers will wear black arm bands for a week to protest against deferment of one professor seat in BOG by board of trustees and teachers will teach the classes by wearing black arm bands. Protest banners will be placed in university premises. Protest will be lodged outside parliament and press club, said the protest plan. If after these measures, university authorities did not meet teachers’ demand of representation in decision making forum, then boycott of classes, exams and admissions will also be considered, the teachers decided.