In a significant development at the Karachi University, regular faculty members have succeeded in securing a waiver for MPhil and PhD fees, marking a pivotal moment in their ongoing dispute with the administration. The decision to exempt teaching staff from these fees was announced following a series of protests and a teaching boycott orchestrated by the teachers’ association, which persisted for ten days.
The formal notification of this fee exemption was issued by Prof. Abdul Waheed, the university’s registrar. Notably, this exemption extends to non-teaching staff as well. With both morning and evening classes affected by the ongoing protests, nearly a hundred teachers are refusing to instruct approximately 46,000 students.
Among the key demands put forth by the protesting teachers was the timely payment of fees for evening classes and the exemption from MPhil and PhD fees. The latter demand has now been met, as per the recent notification.
According to the notification, faculty members will no longer be required to pay admission, enrollment, semester examination, thesis evaluation, or viva examination fees for their MPhil and PhD studies. This means that pursuing these advanced degrees will be entirely cost-free for the university’s teachers.
Previously, MPhil students at the University of Karachi were required to pay fees amounting to Rs. 332,000, while PhD students had to pay Rs. 407,000. Furthermore, the university will now cover the expenses associated with thesis evaluation, including payments to foreign referees, which typically amount to approximately $200 per student.
It is worth noting that following the completion of their MPhil or PhD degrees, these faculty members will also become eligible for a monthly allowance of Rs. 25,000 from the exchequer, further enhancing the benefits they receive from this groundbreaking fee waiver.
