Government College University (GCU) Lahore has denied “terminating” a contractual faculty member of the Department of Political Science, Zagum Abbas, “for being vocal about issues facing students, cultivating a culture of dialogue and encouraging his students to engage in political activities”.
Zagum, in a Facebook post on Wednesday night, had said that his contract was not extended because he “taught his students to question everything that had been fed to them”.
According to Zagum, he was “verbally” informed of the decision. “After four years of service to GCU, the administration didn’t even have the decency to provide written notice of termination.” He had further said that he was accused of being “political” and “vocal against the issues facing students and teachers on campus”.
He had, however, not disclosed the nature of the issues.
“I want to state proudly that I invited my students to be open, rational and taught them to engage in critical debates. I cultivated a culture of dialogue and engagement and taught my students to question everything which had been fed to them. These were the activities that the myopic men on campus could neither digest nor tolerate.”
Highlighting his teaching career, Zagum had said he loved his job enough to live away from his family in Gilgit, believing that at least he was “contributing something meaningful to society and the country at large”.
While support from colleagues and student activists is pouring in for the teacher, the varsity has clarified the termination and welcomed Zagum to apply for a regular appointment “since contractual appointments are subject to workload”.
“Contractual appointments are subject to workload and classes, as determined by the head of the department. Currently, the workload at the political science department is complete,” a GCU spokesperson told The Current.
“However, Zagum is welcome to apply for a regular appointment at GCU whenever a post is advertised. If he has any constructive suggestions towards improving the working conditions of contract employees, he is encouraged to provide his feedback directly to the GCU vice chancellor (VC). We wish him all the success in the future,” the spokesperson added.
