In an interesting development, the controversial vice-chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) was sent on forced leaves following which the university has reopened after a prolonged hiatus of 51 days.
Speaking on the occasion, a teacher said that the condition of the university will improve significantly and they [teachers] will be able to focus more on academics.
The university reopened after the vice-chancellor was sent on forced leave by a committee formed by the federal government to tackle the crisis. Attendance, on the other hand, remained quite low.
“The decision to reopen the university was announced late Wednesday night, hence the attendance is quite low,” said another teacher.
The students who had missed out on their studies for the past two-and-a-half months were happy but disappointed as well since classes were not held. “We’re happy that the university has reopened but classes have not resumed,” said a student.
The teachers said that the classes would be held from Monday as per schedule while students complained of the lost time they would have to make up for when classes resumed.
QAU teachers had claimed that the vice-chancellor was not appointed on the basis of merit. They said that he was not an associate professor hence he did not deserve to be appointed the vice-chancellor.
Teachers had also alleged that the VC had failed to take action against students who were flouting QAU’s rules by bringing arms to the varsity.