ISLAMABAD: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) on Sunday appreciated parliamentarians for raising their voice, which had resulted in deferment of the bill suggesting upgradation of COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) to university. The bill, which was initially passed from Senate was tabled in the National Assembly on January 17, 2018 and was deferred owing to a proposed amendment by Abdul Qahar Khan Wadan, an MNA from Balochistan. Wadan objected to the lack of teachers’ representation in decision-making forums of the proposed university. “The bill did not address the concerns of the faculty.” Parliamentarians had raised several issues, including the provision of job security of employees in the bill passed by Senate, as the bill did not mention tenure and credentials for appointment of top officials of the proposed university. In a statement, FAPUASA Pakistan President Dr Kaleemullah Bareach and Islamabad chapter President Dr Shehzad Ashraf Chaudhry said, “We are thankful to legislators for their efforts to postpone the bill based on dictatorial approach. Participatory democracy is the only way forward for the nation.” They went on to say: “The recent decline of the higher education is due to the undemocratic policies being executed at seats of higher learning. Pakistan is still lacking the participatory democracy, where stakeholders exercise their share in decision-making. In a parliamentary democratic system, power is vested in the people, who exercise their power through elected representatives in parliament, which is the most superior forum.” They reiterated the demand to restore democracy in all educational institutes of Pakistan as per the constitution. Published in Daily Times, January 22nd 2018.