KARACHI: The Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) during a general body meeting on Thursday decided that the teachers would not perform election duties and would resist all attempts to arrest a teacher over the protest by any law enforcement agency.
According to a local media outlet, it was reported that the meeting was held after receiving several complains by the teachers who stated that they received phone calls warning them of arrests if they failed to attend the training sessions for election preparations.
As stated by KUTS Secretary, Dr Moiz Khan the phone calls came from the election commission office to around 50 female teachers and none to the male teachers.
Furthermore, the university’s vice chancellor has written a letter to the provincial election commissioner stating the issue.
The university teachers also stated that the notice issued by the deputy commissioner office through the registrar “not cooperating with the District Election Commission in discharging election duty” used ‘insulting language’.
Moreover, the Teachers’ Society Vice President Prof Shah Ali-ul-Qadar stated that the KU teachers, like other universities in the country, had been receiving an exemption from election duties since 1992.
The KU administration had already sent a list of 1,800 non-teaching staff to the election commission. Of them, the commission had rejected 600 names as they did not meet their criteria.
