Unending conflicts among faculty members have stamped a blot on the Punjab University landscape as decline in teachers’ output and unnecessary hurdles in imparting education have jeopardised the careers of students.
What makes the situation alarming is the fact that many departments have earned notoriety for frequent teacher bust-ups. If media reports are something to go by, many such cases have hit the headlines during the last one year.
The Institute of Communication Studies, the Institute of Education and Research, the Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology, the Institute of Geography, the Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, and Islamic Studies department all have seen clashes among academics.
Confrontation between factions of teachers and sometimes within a faction itself has become a talk of the campus. Most faculty members have lost interest in elections for their representation in the Syndicate and other associations due to disputes.
Many teachers have launched vilification campaigns against their rivals by circulating pamphlets and writing (anonymous) letters to the vice chancellor.
In the backdrop of the growing number of such incidents disturbing the campus atmosphere, PU Vice-Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran has forwarded to all faculty members a letter expressing his concern over the sorry state of affairs.
The communication is being seen as a desperate move by the head of the institution, who is well aware of the falling standard of education. “It is unbecoming of a teacher and also retarding the growth of the institution,” observes Prof Kamran in the letter which seeks input of the teachers to resolve conflicts and set the university’s future direction.
Stating that “perpetual conflict is one of the most important reasons why Pakistan has failed to achieve in the global arena”, he admits that “conflict among faculty members of the higher cadres has been a fact of life in PU as far back as one could recall.”
“The conflict of senior members is then translated into grouping of younger teachers,” he says while claiming that the administration has “not given anyone cause of anxiety on account of delay in promotions except those held up for disciplinary reasons”.
Prof Kamran stated that those departments and institutes that had avoided or resolved these conflicts or had toned down the level of conflict had progressed. He stressed that the faculty members must strive for conflict resolution because they were being watched and observed by students all the time. “If third party intervention is needed, it should be invoked,” he said.
The vice chancellor said no university could flourish without a culture of genuine tolerance of difference of opinion. “A difference of opinion is a difference of opinion and not a blood feud,” he writes.
The letter titled “Future Direction of PU” further reads: “No one can be taught the culture of tolerance through letters and speeches – it is an inner thing and we should all focus on our inner selves from time to time. Tolerance remains one of the supreme human virtues”.
Prof Kamran asks the academics to realise that “PU is a mini-Pakistan and embodies the potentials as well as the conflicts that are being witnessed in daily national life. If PU can be taken on a path in which there is a continuity and ownership of development and activity, only then we can hope that the same could be done for this country.” He also urged them to give ideas to set targets and future direction of the institution.
The vice chancellor reminds the academics that “PU could look forward for global ranking, if it would set a target of at least 1,500 faculty members, a suitable number of post-docs and a well-populated PhD programme. However, this endeavour requires money – for salaries, offices, laboratories, equipment, infrastructure for the increased number of PhD students, housing, transport etc. Where will the money come from?”
Saying that the Punjab University is the most important institution of higher learning in this country, Prof Kamran demands that the faculty set targets and strive for their achievement regardless of the fact that who heads the administration “to be able to lift this university to a very high pedestal in the global arena in this decade.”
“We must always bear in mind that the failure or success of PU will impinge deeply on the failure or success of the country. If PU fails, Pakistan is bound to fall – if PU takes off, Pakistan is bound to take off,” the letter says. Dawn
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