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Education News / Students Organisation => Education News => Topic started by: sb on September 13, 2013, 10:11:18 AM

Title: Two former VCs, two Registrars in the dock
Post by: sb on September 13, 2013, 10:11:18 AM
Two former VCs, two Registrars in the dock
Lahore:12 September : The Punjab governor has ordered institution of a regular/statutory inquiry against two former vice chancellors of Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi (PMASAAUR) and annulled scores of appointments made by three selection boards.

The governor, who is also chancellor of the public-sector universities in the province, has directed that the pension of former PMASAAUR acting VCs Prof Dr Irfanul Haq and Prof Dr Muhammad Munir should be withheld till final outcome of the inquiry and scrutiny of three selection boards.

The governor has also ordered inquiry against two former registrars – Munir Sabir and Arshad Nawaz Chaudhry – for recruitments made in violation of merit. He has allowed a regular inquiry through the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT) against the two former acting VCs and two former registrars as well as some other university officials.

Governor Chaudhry Sarwar has taken these decisions on the recommendations of a committee constituted by the Punjab government in July last year as well as recommendations of the Punjab Agriculture Department.

Sources said that more than 70 appointments were made in three selection boards, including 37 teaching and gazetted administrative posts.

An inquiry committee constituted by the Punjab government had probed complaints about illegal recruitments and declared that all appointments made in the 41st selection board chaired by former acting VC Prof Dr Irfanul Haq were "completely illegal" in view of law, rules and procedures. As these appointments were not approved by the Syndicate, the committee recommended that these should be cancelled.

The committee also recommended that the appointments made in the 40th Selection Board chaired by Prof Haq be cancelled as these were conducted by the incompetent/illegal selection board and considered in "illegal Syndicate meeting".

"Prima facie there are transparency, merit and reportedly corruption issues relating to these appointments," the committee observed.

As regards the appointments made in the 39th selection board chaired by former acting VC Prof Dr Muhammad Munir, the committee recommended that the appointments be held in abeyance and a fact-finding inquiry be held to ascertain the vires, transparency and merit.

The committee proposed that the appointments of relatives and merit-less appointments of BPS-1 to BPS-16 positions should also be cancelled after scrutiny.

Sources said that Prof Haq had overstepped his mandate and started committing massive irregularities by appointing inexperienced blue-eyed people on major positions in university. The acting VC advertised 129 posts in violation of the recruitment policy given by the Punjab governor allegedly to promote and induct his favourites in sheer violation of the university Statutes and Act.

The sources said the elected members of the university Syndicate and Academic staff Association represented to the governor and the chief minister with a request to intervene in the matter and instruct the acting VC stop irregularities and abide by the rules.

Prof Haq also committed irregularities with regard to holding of a Selection Board on July 20-21, 2012 as he himself appointed three members of the board (for which he had no competency) in a bid to overcome the quorum problem.

Sources said the three permanent members of the Selection Board had not participated in the meeting in protest due to irregularities in the recruitment process.

It is learnt that the Punjab government had directed the acting VC on July 20, 2012, to stop the illegal process of recruitment and referred the case to the Punjab Anti-Corruption Department.

Many applicants had reported that irrelevant faculty members of the university were present in the selection board for DVM associate professorship.

Sources said the acting VC advertised various administrative posts without approval of statutes by the chancellor. He also advertised a number of teaching and administrative posts without budgetary provision and also illegally transferred posts from one department to another.Sources also claimed that the acting VC committed gross violation of statutes during departmental promotion committee for BPS-1 to 16 by promoting their blue-eyed people to higher positions without considering the number of sanctioned posts and ratio between direct recruitment and promotion.

PMASAAUR Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Rai Niaz Ahmad said he had stopped the pension of both former VCs Prof Munir and Prof Haq while going by the book and constituted three inquiry committees to look into the affairs of selections boards and appointments. He said the committees had a dean, a Syndicate member and registrar. He said the 41st selection board was completely illegal and annulled.

Prof Ahmad also said that the CMIT had started inquiry as the accused appeared before it on Friday.