• Varsity’s Senate meets as we speak in Islamabad
• Committee notes then performing registrar Sarim influenced Selection Board to get himself chosen as professor
• Fuuast takes no step regardless of HEC’s really helpful new choice board
KARACHI: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has discovered gross irregularities in the appointment strategy of 235 school members of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast) by its administration by way of the Selection Board-2021 and really helpful that the entire course of be scrapped.
However, regardless of its clear advice no such step has to date been taken and on Monday (as we speak) a particular assembly of the Senate is being held in Islamabad underneath the chairmanship of President Arif Alvi to resolve an interim set-up, take motion in opposition to these chargeable for irregularities and different essential points.
The varsity had claimed to have interviewed 1,100 candidates to nominate 235 candidates together with 89 lecturers, 109 assistant professors, 21 affiliate professors, 10 professors and 6 others by way of the Selection Board-2021, which was performed by varsity’s performing Vice Chancellor Dr Rubina Mushtaq after which performing registrar Dr Muhammad Sarim.
The entire appointment course of was marred by allegations of irregularities and favouritism. The present monetary scenario of the varsity has reached to the extent that it has no cash to repeatedly pay full salaries to its workers.
“This is a match case of corruption for the National Accountability Bureau. An HEC probe will not be enough…NAB ought to conduct an inquiry as this includes public exchequer,” mentioned a senior official of Fuuast administration.
Documents obtainable with Dawn confirmed {that a} assembly of the Fuuast Senate, chaired by President Arif Alvi, had tasked HEC chairman to validate the proceedings of the Selection Board-2021.
The HEC chairman had fashioned a 5-member committee comprising Raja Akhtar Iqbal, the joint secretary at federal schooling ministry; Prof Dr Muhammad Tufail, Pro Vice Chancellor of the NED University; Shahzaib Abbas, the director-coordination of the HEC; Javed Memon, Karachi director of HEC; and Dr Arshad Bashir, guide teachers, HEC, for the duty.
The report of the committee mentioned that Fuuast had claimed that there can be no monetary influence for the newly appointed school, however it was clear that the becoming a member of of 235 individuals would result in a monetary influence of rather more than Rs127 million.
The committee noticed anomalies through the assessment together with tampering with unique paperwork, irregularities in appointments of professors and affiliate professors, irregularities in providing school positions, irregularities in conduct of the choice board, incomplete scrutiny of the paperwork, unequal alternative to eligible candidates and inaccurate calculation of economic influence.
It famous that the performing registrar Dr Sarim, who was additionally the secretary of the choice board, remained unavailable to the committee.
The HEC report, a duplicate of which is accessible with Dawn, said {that a} complete of 235 candidates have been chosen from 1,100 candidates interviewed. Of the full 235 appointments, 89 have been lecturers, 109 assistant
professors, 21 affiliate professors, 10 professors and 6 have been undefined.
About tampering with the unique document, the committee famous: “The Selection Board proceedings have been recorded in a register, two-thirds of which have been handwritten by Dr Muhammad Sarim (performing Registrar, FUUAST when the Selection Board 2021 was performed). Some of the statements are overwritten the place ‘one’ candidate has been modified to ‘none’ candidate, and the ‘really helpful’ candidates turned ‘not really helpful’ and vice-versa. Page numbers on the register usually are not in sequence, tampered and even full-size papers have been pasted and rewritten on the unique register.
“One of the really helpful candidates Dr Zubair Khalid chosen as Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering will not be discovered in the checklist of candidates/interviewees.
“Important particulars resembling the full variety of candidates, quick-itemizing standards, marking scheme, and interview marks breakdown are lacking in the Selection Board proceedings/Record,” the report of the committee mentioned.
The committee additionally noticed huge irregularities in the appointments of professor and affiliate professor as FUUAST officers failed to provide any document apart from purposes of the appointed professors and affiliate professors.
“Important information resembling Referees’ Reports and vetting of publications have been lacking. Instead of full dossiers of the candidates, solely software kinds have been shared with the Committee. Scrutiny Committee studies weren’t shared with the Committee. As a end result, the Committee is unable to find out the eligibility of the candidates. Secondly, a couple of potential candidates for the positions of Professor and Associate Professors weren’t thought of for the interview,” the report said.
“On insistence of the Committee to provide studies, each Acting VC and Acting Registrar talked about that studies have been misplaced,” it added.
The committee talked about that performing VC Dr Rubina Mushtaq inquired from Dr Sarim in regards to the referees’ report and different choice board paperwork on Dec 10, 2021 and a reminder to this impact was additionally given on December 17, 2021.
“In the absence of any substantial documentary proof, the Committee is unable to validate appointments of Professors and Associate Professors,” the report famous.
The committee raised questions concerning the variety of vacant sanctioned positions in opposition to which the Selection Board-2021 was held, however the varsity representatives failed to supply any passable reply.
Similarly, in the Department of International Relations, there have been no sanctioned posts obtainable, but the board really helpful Dr Syed Shahabuddin as assistant professor.
Moreover, in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Dr Usama Zafar who appeared in an interview for the place of lecturer was chosen for assistant professor, which he by no means utilized for.
In one other case, some candidates utilized for sure topics and have been appointed in a special topic/division in which that they had by no means utilized for.
According to the committee, the FUUAST has communicated in writing that partial Selection Boards in opposition to 2013 commercials have been performed in the years 2017, 2018 and 2019, however it was of the agency opinion that Selection Board proceedings in opposition to a single commercial couldn’t be divided into a number of components spanning over a interval of eight years.
The committee additionally didn’t discover endorsement of beforehand performed choice boards in any of the minutes of the Senate assembly.
The committee noticed that two eminent personalities nominated by the syndicate (shouldn’t be University Employees) have been lacking from the Selection Board. Moreover, the really helpful panel of topic consultants periodically permitted by the syndicate was additionally not shared by FUUAST with the committee members.
The committee talked about that scrutiny of the paperwork was not correctly executed and people with irrelevant levels have been allowed to seem in interviews of a special self-discipline.
The committee additionally opined that the candidates already working in the college have been most popular, “as absence of different candidates on interview dates can’t be thought of as mere coincidence”.
“It is very doable that the Test letter/interview letters weren’t despatched to different candidates,” it famous.
The committee highlighted that Acting Registrar/Secretary Selection Board 2021 Dr Muhammad Sarim was not obtainable to fulfill the committee. “Despite a number of telephone calls and emails, even visiting his workplace didn’t prove helpful. His attendance document mirrored that he was on campus through the Committee’s go to, and deliberately prevented assembly with the Committee members.”
“His suspicious behaviour results in an assumption that he didn’t need to disclose the details about the proceedings of the Selection Board 2021.
“The committee believes that Dr Muhammad Sarim manoeuvred the Selection Board proceedings by not solely getting himself chosen, being the one eligible candidate interviewed for the submit of Professor, Computer Science (BPS-21), but additionally influenced the Selection Board proceedings to get a number of different candidates chosen and rejected, thought of as near him or in any other case, respectively,” the committee noticed.
“Keeping in view the document produced by Fuuast and 4-day interplay with college officers in Karachi and Islamabad, It will not be doable for the Committee to validate the proceedings of the Selection Board held in 2021.
“The strategy of appointment in opposition to the commercial made by Fuuast in the yr 2022 may additionally be scrapped.
“The college could publish contemporary commercial (as per prevailing HEC standards) of all positions in opposition to which Selection Board proceedings have been performed in 2021 and full the method inside 90 days. All candidates who have been chosen beforehand may additionally apply,” it really helpful.
Published in Dawn, November twentieth, 2023
