Punjab University procedural loopholes
'Procedural loopholes' in three PU lecturers selection
Lahore, Jan 24: The recent selection of three lecturers at Punjab University's Institute of
Communication Studies (ICS) has some procedural loopholes, although the
varsity administration claims to have done the job on merit. A
close monitoring of the whole selection process raises doubts over
intensions of the varsity administration, as mystery shrouds the whole
episode right from the advertisement of posts till the final selection
of candidates. It has been revealed that candidates who were
short-listed to appear before the Selection Committee had received
interview call letters just a day before the interview. The interview
was scheduled on December 28, 2011 while most of candidates received
interview letters on December 27. Another important point to be
mentioned here is related to the meeting agenda where only one post was
mentioned while a total of three lecturers were selected in the meeting.
Similarly, the advertisement which appeared on November 3, 2011 did not
mention total number of posts to be filled at PUICS. A
candidate, Khalid Rashid, also said that his CV submitted for interview
did not contain all pages, alleging some of these pages were allegedly
removed. It is pertinent to mention here that Khalid Rashid who
is contract lecturer at PUICS has already submitted a complaint at Chief
Minister Secretariat, alleging violation of merit in the Selection
Board. However, his allegations have already been refuted by PU
administration in reply to the CM Secretariat. Another important
point to be mentioned here is early summoning of the Selection Board's
meeting. According to rules of procedure for meetings of the Selection
Board as mentioned in the PU Calendar "Ordinarily a week's notice shall
be given for a meeting which shall be circulated among members either
through special messenger or by post under a certificate of posting."
However in the instant case, notice for the meeting was issued on
December 27, just a day before the meeting. One of the aggrieved
candidates said "We were not expecting that
university like PU would call them on emergency basis for interview just
hours before the interview", adding due to lack of time they could not
prepare themselves well for the interview. About the CV of Khalid
Rashid, a PU official claimed that he (Khalid Rashid) had submitted only
a three-page document in response to the advertisement. However, when
contacted, Khalid Rashid claimed that he had submitted a file comprising
twenty-eight pages. When asked why the number of seats in the
advertisement was not mentioned dated November 3, 2011, PU Additional
Registrar-I Dr Aurangzeb Alamgir claimed that nothing was done against
rules, adding it was not compulsory or binding to advertise the number
of seats. To a question that as there was one seat mentioned in
the agenda of the selection board's meeting then as to why three
candidates were selected, Dr Aurangzeb said if the Selection Board found
more suitable candidates then it could select more. "We cannot miss
suitable candidates because such candidates improve the ranking of the
varsity", he added. When asked as to posts of Assistant
Professor, Associate Professor and Professor which had been lying vacant
for years had not been filled and instead lecturers had been recruited
by the Additional Registrar-I, claimed the selection of Assistant
Professor, Associate Professor and Professor took more time. When asked
about late delivery of interview letters, Dr Aurangzeb claimed that the
administration had informed the candidates telephonically two days
before the interview. "If I have command over a subject then I can
perform well in the interview even if I was informed late", he argued.
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Dr Kamran appointed PU VC for another term
Lahore: The Punjab Higher Education Department on Monday issued notification of
appointment of Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran as vice-chancellor of the Punjab
University. His appointment was approved by Governor/Chancellor
Sardar Latif Khan Khosa on the advice of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
This is Dr Kamran's second consecutive appointment as PU VC as his
earlier four-year tenure had expired on January 2. It is
important to mention here that this time Dr Kamranís appointment date as
PU VC has coincided with his birthday, i.e. January 23. Higher
Education Departmentís Secretary Dr Ijaz Munir confirmed that the department had issued notification of Dr Mujahid Kamranís
appointment. Meanwhile, in a press statement, PU Syndicate
members appreciated Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on appointing Prof Dr
Mujahid Kamran as vice-chancellor for four years.
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Students securing above 70% marks to get laptops
Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif, in order to encourage the brilliant
students for attaining high marks in examinations, has decided to
distribute over three lakh laptops among them and the directives in this
regard have been issued to the concerned district governments of the
Punjab. Credible sources told this correspondent here on Monday
that the Punjab chief minister in first phase has announced to
distribute one lakh laptops among those students who achieved more than
70% marks in annual examinations of the Rawalpindi Board of Intermediate
and Secondary Education during the year 2011. As per decision of the
Punjab chief minister directions have been issued to the concerned
quarters including the city district governments all over the Punjab.
The concerned higher officials including DCOs and the executive
directors of their concerned educational directorates have been
instructed to prepare lists of those students who excelled in the board
exams with more than 70% marks. As per directives of the chief
minister, the related officials have instructed the heads of educational
institutions to send lists of such students so that it could be
submitted to the Punjab chief minister for his final approval. Work on
preparing students lists has been initiated in all institutions. The
officials in the Directorate of Education, Rawalpindi district, as well
as the city district government confirmed the report besides the heads
of several public and private schools. The distribution of laptops would
be made both to the students of private and government schools. Similarly,
political leaders like MNAs and MPAs of Rawalpindi including Hanif
Abbasi, Malik Shakil Awan, Sheharyar Riaz, Chaudhry Ayaz confirmed the
report. They said the Punjab governments move to distribute laptops is
to promote education in and to encourage other students to achieve
higher marks in their examinations. Shakil Awan said that before
this move the Punjab government has already given scholarships, cash
awards to those students who achieved top positions in the Matric exams
during last year. The students who achieved distinctions and
scholarships were also taken to trips to different parts of the country.
It is also in the programme of the present Punjab government to sent
the top position-holders to abroad for attaining further studies
including colleges and universities. The news
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