May
Day 2014: Message from the Employees’ Union
The University Employees’ Union makes this
May-Day appeal at a time when the value and regard of the University faces a
precipitous decline. We all face the burden of raising standards and turning
round the present crisis. The main causes of the present downturn are as
follows:
1. Actions of certain officials of the Ministry
of the Higher Education that go beyond bounds of their legitimate authority.
2. The local day to day manipulation of
persons who enjoy the support of the same Ministry officials.
3. Senior administrators who in order to
keep their positions are ready to sell out on the high standards and
independence a University must nurture and protect.
Some day they will be made answerable to
the university community and the general public.
We are further saddened that in these
challenging times for the people of the region, our elected representatives,
who were with much fervor ushered in with astonishing majorities, have been
deafeningly silent on the tragic plight o f the University.
The University could embark on its overdue
journey to regain stature, only if the Council, which is the final authority in
university affairs, is composed of persons who are committed and fair minded.
The academics have an indispensable role to
play in ensuring that this happy turn of events in the composition of the
council, is brought about expeditiously.
To this end, the academics, employees and
students must all work together. While we seek public support to bring about
this favourable change in the fortunes of the University, we must leave no stone
unturned to mobilize the cooperation and influence of concerned persons in the
South.
