The University of Karachi’s (KU) baby daycare center has been closed following its dispute with the Directorate of Women Development (DWD) over the administrative responsibilities of the center.
The closure has resulted in a challenging situation for the female staff, including the faculty and other employees.
The Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) has asked for the restoration of the daycare center, while the Ministry of Women Development Sindh has ordered KU to operate the center itself.
Note that the Government of Sindh had developed the KU daycare through DWD after formally signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with KU’s management.
The KUTS revealed that the DWD has asked the university to administer the center because an agreement could not be reached.
President KUTS, Dr. Shah Ali Al-Qadar, said that the center has been closed for the last 10 days and the female faculty members and staff are facing difficulties because of it. He explained that several female teachers leave their children at the center and go to work.
Dr. Al-Qadar also highlighted that the government urges women to be active members of society but is now hesitant to facilitate them, and this is affecting the teaching process.
According to him, the Ministry of Women Development has directed the university to hire its own staff while KUTS is demanding the restoration of the center and the provision of the required staff so that the university’s protocol is not disturbed.
President Al-Qadar met with KU’s Vice-Chancellor (VC) and asked him to apprise the concerned minister about reopening the center as soon as possible.
KU professor, Dr. Intikhab Ulfat, emphasized that women with toddlers must be given a stress-free atmosphere to help them engage fully in their teaching duties, otherwise KU’s teaching process will suffer because 55 percent of the staff are women who leave their children at the university’s daycare. Another professor, Dr. Samar Sulatana, concurred and said that majority of the female staff are married and have children.
Samina Qureshi, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mass Communication, said that the concept of daycare was first proposed at a seminar that was organized by her department on International Women’s Day in 2009. She remarked that the provision of a daycare facility to working women at their workplace is the responsibility of the organization and the state as per the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Qureshi underlined the importance of a daycare facility at a university where the majority of the staff is female and stressed that teachers have long duty hours, and shutting down the center will disturb their performance. She also encouraged KU’s administration and the provincial government to earnestly resolve this issue.
Via Express Tribune