Names of alleged plagiarists removed from HEC website
Lahore: The names of the Punjab University (PU) teachers who were forcibly retired for plagiarism, and were blacklisted by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) last year, have been removed from the HEC website's list of plagiarists, sources within the HEC told Daily Times on Monday.
The HEC blacklisted the names of several teachers of the PU on its official website, as it was believed that these teachers were guilty of plagiarism. These teachers included Mian Aftab Ahmed, Dr Fazli Aleem, Rashid Ahmed, Sohail Afzal Tahir, Alam Saeed and Maqsood Ahmed.
Letter: The names of the plagiarists were deleted after the HEC received a letter from a foreign university that claimed that the teachers were not plagiarists and their names should be removed from the website. The foreign university, which has published several research articles of these teachers in the past, pointed out that they (the teachers) were not plagiarists and that their reputation was at stake due to the action taken against them by the PU and HEC, the sources told Daily Times.
Restore jobs: PU Academic Staff Association (PUASA) President Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Salik said that the action of the HEC in removing their names from it's website proved that the teachers were not plagiarists, adding that PUASA, along with the teaching community, demanded that Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer restore the jobs of these teachers. He also said that these teachers were among the best scientists of the country and were a valuable asset.
PU former chancellor and former governor Punjab, Khalid Maqbool, had forced these teachers to compulsory retirement as punishment for alleged plagiarism. He claimed to have taken this action after being recommended to do so by a highly qualified inquiry committee. In retaliation, the teachers boycotted the governor and protested against the decision by welcoming him with black flags when he visited the university. The teachers also blamed PU Vice Chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran for supporting this action due to personal bias.
Already punished: However, HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi said that after the teachers had been duly punished, there was no need to post their names on the official website. He added that the purpose of highlighting their names on the website had only been to strongly discourage plagiarism. A PU teacher, seeking anonymity, said that the teachers' community was pleased by the decision to remove the names of the alleged plagiarists from the official website. He added that after the plagiarism charges had been levied against the teachers, the academic environment of the varsity had been disturbed as the teachers who were once united had become divided into different groups.
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