• Fee structure is on par with private universities but facilities are nowhere near the same standard, laments a student
• Kuts admits students are suffering, holds ‘bad administration’ responsible for their woes
• Students wonder why CM, Sindh govt remain silent spectators to crisis at country’s largest university
KARACHI: Nearly 50,000 students at the country’s largest university have been left in limbo as the teachers’ boycott of semester examinations over what they claimed unpaid dues enters its fourth week, disrupting academic plans and causing growing anxiety among students and their parents.
With no clear timeline for the resumption of exams, many students are fearing further delays to the academic calendar, shortened semesters and the loss of their semester break.
Lack of response from the provincial government, especially from the chief minister who is the controlling authority of all public sector universities across Sindh, to resolve the dispute has also been criticised.
The KU teachers have been boycotting the semester exams since May 5 over non-payment of their dues for evening classes, copy checking, exam supervision, paper setting, exam vigilance, house ceiling and leave encashment among other things. They have called for an investigation into the financial crisis at the campus and refuse to end the strike until the fulfilment of their demands.
However, the prolonged boycott has put students under increased stress and frustration.
“I don’t want to continue further studies at KU anymore. I’m so fed up with this broken system,” a frustrated student told Dawn. He said he paid his fees on time but never got any facilities accordingly.
Similarly, a first-year student from the Department of International Relations said, “It’s my first semester at KU. I am still learning how the system works and adapting to university life. I prepared extensively for the exams, studying day and night, only to have them cancelled unexpectedly. My biggest concern now is that if the exams are rescheduled during the semester break, as it is rumoured, the entire break will be spent preparing for and taking exams. This uncertainty has completely disrupted my plans and added unnecessary stress,” she said.
“Just like many other students, I am frustrated due to the prolonged delay in examinations and the lack of clear communication from both the university and teachers. We are uncertain about when exams will take place and worried about the impact on the next semester,” said a student from the Department of English.
He said his main concern is the disruption to the academic calendar and the potential loss of study time in the upcoming semester.
Similarly, a final-year Visual Studies student said he supported the teachers’ demands but added that such disputes between the administration and the employees had become a recurring issue at the university. “And eventually, teachers and the administration reach agreements, but students are the ones who suffer the most from such delays,” he said.
Expressing concern over the academic calendar, the student said almost a month had already been lost and students had not been informed how the university planned to make up for the delay. “We do not know whether the next semester will be shortened, whether multiple papers will be scheduled on the same day, or how the lost time will be managed,” the student said.
He pointed out that examination and semester fees had increased steadily over the past few years but the quality of education and university services had not improved. “The fee structure is now approaching that of private universities but the facilities are nowhere near the same standard,” he said, adding: “Sometimes I wonder whether it would have been better to enrol in a private university.”
One student wondered why the provincial authorities and relevant government bodies did not look into the matters at KU, which is the largest university not just in Sindh but also in the country.
Similar questions were also raised by students on various social media platforms, where they criticised the Sindh CM and the Universities and Boards Department, and asked why the chief minister was not intervening in the matter and why no step was being taken to fix the broken system at KU.
Talking to Dawn, Karachi University Teachers Society (Kuts) President Syed Ghufran Alam said there was no doubt that students were the ultimate sufferers whenever such disputes arose. However, it’s the “bad university administration” which causes this suffering, he added.
“Students are suffering, but not because of teachers. The responsibility lies with the bad management,” he said and emphasised that the administration was responsible for ensuring both educational services to students paying hefty fees as well as timely salaries for employees. But, he said that it has failed in ensuring both.
Alam said teachers had repeatedly raised their issues with the administration but were left with no choice except to continue their protest. “For the past six to seven years, the management has failed to resolve issues through dialogue and has instead adopted a rigid approach, which has brought matters to this stage,” he said.
On examinations, he said students would be given sufficient time to prepare once the dispute was resolved. “ We will facilitate students and take the student organisations on board. Any decision to restart exams will be announced a few days in advance,” he said.
However, he stressed that the final decision on examinations and the academic calendar rested with the university administration.
KU Vice Chancellor Dr Khalid Iraqi was not available for comment.
Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2026
