Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Employees Association of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) continue its strike on the fourth consecutive day on Wednesday against the delay in regularization of contract staff as per the rules and regulation of the university.

Around 130 contract base employees ranging from scale 07 to 17 on strike in the university for the last five days and demanding from the provincial government to look into the matter.

The strike in the AWKUM has immensely affected the University academic activities and administration activities, students abode in the hostels vacated their hostels, administration staff pressing the high ups authority for regularization.

The university has officially filed application to the district police to lodge First Information Report (FIR) against the union representatives for exercising the act of protest inside the campus.

Hundreds of student’s especially female students may lose opportunities to get enrolled in other universities as their degree waiting in the administration for verifications and attestation purpose.

All scheduled interviews, test, registration, documentation, degree attestation fee submission halted in the university for the last four days, due to employees strike.

Speaking to Daily Times the president of the All Employees Association Ajmal Mayar criticized the high ups of the university including Vice Chancellor, Registrar and Treasurer for declining the regularization of contract employees.

He said that AKUM must abide by the rules regulation and should have regularized the contract base employees before appointing fresh, adding that around 130 employees ranging from scale 7 to BPS 17 waiting for regularization.

Ajmal Mayar said that some of the officials in the university were allegedly making money in the fresh appointments as they have made in the past at the university in appointments and purchasing.

“Every single project contains the story of corruption, since the university established corruption was commenced in every purchasing, appointments and construction work,” He maintained.

As per the detail, the VC of the university and other senior officials of the university has also submit application in the near by police station for taking action against those who demonstrate protest inside the campus. The university has accused the representatives of the All Employee Association for stealing the files which contain important records of the university. Referring the accused theft the president Ajmal Mayar said that fearing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Ehtisab Commission inquiries the high ups have allegedly sidelined the important files but now blaming the union and contract employees.

We have peacefully held our protest inside the university we have not touched any thing any file, any furniture and person as we demanding to ensure transparency in the university and push the provincial government to initiate the process of inquiry and accountability in the university.

However, the Provincial government unmoved on the fifth day of the strike and have turn deaf year towards the issue and largely remain devoid from whole situation. The employees of the association demanded from the provincial government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to take immediate action against those involved in corruption and nepotism in the different projects and regularize the contract base employees of the university.

They threaten for extended strike if their demands were not properly met and action was not taken against those who made corruption in the university on the name of different projects and appointments.

The Public Relation Officers of the AWKUM Abid Khan said that only two wings including Finance and Registrar offices are closed and students are on their spring vacations remaining wings of the university in operation. He said that university will be remain open and denied any discontinuity in official work of the university.

When Registrar of the university Sher Alam was contacted on their cell phone but was not available for comments.