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PU reschedules exams: Inquiry committee
Lahore, Jan 30, 2008
PU reschedules exams before polls
Rescheduling of examinations by the Punjab University
administration in the wake of upcoming general elections has irritated students
as most of them are finding it difficult to prepare for exams in a short period
of time.
In most cases, students have recently appeared in midterm exams
and were supposed to sit finals after a period of six to eight weeks, however,
the PU administration's decision to reschedule exams has cut short their
preparedness.
A number of students of development journalism and other
programmes at the PU Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) said that their third semester exams (midterm) had ended on Jan 18, and according to the
earlier exam schedule, they had to appear in finals after a period of almost six
weeks.
"However, we have been asked to prepare for final exams which
would commence from February 10," a worried student said, questioning, "How it
is possible to revise the whole course in such a short span of
time?"
Another student said special classes were being held on holidays,
like Saturdays, and even on Sundays, but students were in trouble as it was not
an easy job to prepare for exams in such a short period.
"Exams could be
held after elections, but one cannot understand why the administration is
adamant on holding exams early despite students' reservations" another student
commented.
A PU Law College student, seeking anonymity, said that LLB third semester exams were scheduled to be held in March/April but the
administration rescheduled them for the first week of February. "Students are
suffering now, but no one cares," he added. He said students had been ordered to
obey and pay attention to studies instead of discussing early exams.
"It
seems as if the university administration has rescheduled exams after receiving
special instructions from the government," he added. A PU teacher, seeking
anonymity, said the administration wanted to avoid a students' movement at the
PU before or after the election, therefore, it was ensuring the completion of
all exams before polls.
However, PU spokesperson Dr Mujahid Ali Mansoori
said the decision to reschedule exams had been taken unanimously at a meeting of
deans and chairpersons.
He said special and extra classes were being
held to make up for the early exams, adding the varsity had been closed for
several days on Eid and the assassination of former Premier Benazir Bhutto,
which caused a great academic loss to the students. "Exams have been rescheduled
to ensure the timely completion of semesters," he added.
"We want to keep
pace with the PU calendar," he said but denied that any special instructions had
been received from the government to hold exams before polls. He said extra and
unnecessary holidays had been observed in the university in the past by previous
administrations, especially on Eid, which had necessitated unusual steps to make
up for the loss.
VC forms inquiry committee
The Punjab University vice-chancellor has constituted an inquiry
committee to look into the alleged forgery committed by Dr Mian Aftab, former
head of the Psychology and Applied Psychology Department, in his result of MSc
Psychology, it is learnt.
According to the university sources the
committee was formed following submission of a report from the varsity's
controller of examinations which alleged that Dr Mian Aftab had manipulated the
authority concerned to alter the result of his MSc Psychology examination held
by the Punjab University.
Sources said Dr Aftab allegedly had got second
division in the exam but he managed to get the degree in first division.
Dr Aftab was suspended from the headship of the department by the VC
last week over alleged plagiarism. His removal had triggered a controversy
within the university as the PU Academic Staff Association (ASA) alleged that
his removal was not approved by the Syndicate members. However, the allegation
was refuted by the varsity administration.
When contacted, Dr Aftab
expressed his ignorance about the formation of any inquiry committee. However,
he alleged that he was being victimised by VC Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran. "He ( the
VC) is head of the institution and can do any damn thing," he said.
He
said it was strange that the administration had taken note of his alleged
altered degree after 30 years of his service at the university.
Dr Aftab
expressed his apprehensions and alleged that any effort could be made to prove
him guilty as the university administration was custodian of all the record
pertaining to the results. When contacted, PU Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem
Khan said that a complaint was submitted by Prof Dr Yasmin Farooqi, who is
currently heading the Psychology and Applied Psychology Department, almost six
months back to the then VC alleging that Dr Aftab had committed forgery by
altering result of his MSc Psychology.
He said the examination
department took time only to prove it.
The internal probe report by the
controller of examinations was brought to the notice of the VC who formed the
one-member committee to look into the matter," he added.
He said since
the allegations against Dr Aftab were of serious nature, therefore, the PU
administration had to take their notice. He said that according to the report of
the controller of examinations the accused had allegedly changed the award list
and enhanced his marks in a particular subject.
Dr Khan said the inquiry
committee, comprising Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology Director Prof
Dr Amin Athar, would submit a preliminary inquiry report within 10
days.
He refuted the allegations that Dr Aftab was being victimised by
the VC, adding that a neutral and professional inquiry would be conducted
against the accused teacher.
He said the accused would be given the
opportunity for self-defence. All the documents will be made available to any
third party for verification, he added.
To a question, the registrar
replied if the allegations were found true by the inquiry committee the scope of
the investigation would be widened and all the black sheep, those proved
instrumental in this alleged malpractice, would be uncovered and proceeded
accordingly. The News
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