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CSS exam: HEC staff job security: Officials accuse QAU
CSS exam from today
Islamabad, March 15, 2008: The Central Superior Services (CSS) competitive
examination 2008, under the aegis of Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC),
will commence today (Sunday) at 16 centres across the country. The candidates
are advised to report to their respective examination centres 15 minutes prior
to commencement of examination. App
HEC staff worry about job security
Islamabad: The high
ups of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have been waiting for their fate in
the office, whether the new government would decide to continue with the
existing staff or adjust their own people as most of them have been working on
contract basis.
The fear of losing the jobs has gripped the employees who
have been working on ad hocism and there is also a possibility that the new
government may halt the progress on many projects on which millions of rupees
have been spent.
As prevailing political uncertainty in the country is
hampering the routine matters in all the departments and people have adopted
'wait and see' policy until the new government takes over, the situation in the
HEC is no different and the work on most of the projects have been slow
down.
In the commission total 800 employees have been working and out of
that only 200 are regular employees. Nearly 600 employees who have been working
on contract basis fear that the new government would appoint their own people,
which will leave them unemployed.
Nearly eight high-ups, including Chairman
Dr Atta-ur-Rehman and Executive Director Sohail Naqvi, appear to be more worried
than common employees about their fate as they would be the foremost targets of
the new government who have been getting huge amounts monthly in terms of their
salaries.
They have pinned high hopes on the PML-N ministers and have little
expectations from the PPP-led government. They have been anticipating that if
Ahsan Iqbal takes over it would be a better situation for the employees of
MP-Scale who are considered to be top brass of the commission.
The
commission was founded through a presidential ordinance on September 11, 2002,
following the recommendations of the "Task Force on Higher Education", which
annually obtains 28 billion rupees in terms of budget allocations. The Nation
2 officials accuse QAU of not following rules
Islamabad: Two senior officers of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) have
accused the vice chancellor of terminating their services for what they termed
on the basis of personal grievances and ethnic prejudice.
Services of
two senior officers of the university - registrar and project director of the
Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations (TIAC) - have been terminated by the
university allegedly without following proper procedure. One of the terminated
officers has allegedly not even been enlisted on the regular payroll of the
university, which was promised to him in the initial contract.
The
university management, when contacted, offered no comment, arguing that the
matter is sub judice and pending in a court of law.
Sajid Sohail,
registrar of the Quaid-i-Azam University, who has been removed from the office,
while talking to 'The News,' alleged that the vice chancellor had removed him
without giving any reason and the apparent reason behind his removal was that
"he did not follow his illegal instructions". He claimed that there was law of
the jungle in the university when he took over the charge as registrar. He said
that due to his strictness regarding merit, a group of teachers was unhappy with
him. He claimed that his track record was clean and one could not prove even a
single allegation against him. "When a registrar is terminated from his post
first a show-cause notice is issued then a charge-sheet is drawn against him.
Afterwards an inquiry commission is constituted to probe into the matter," he
said. He added "But nothing has been followed in my case and I was just asked to
leave my post by the vice chancellor." He also alleged that he was physically
assaulted by some blue-eyed professors on the orders of the vice
chancellor.
He said that he went to the court and the court has stayed
the orders of the vice chancellor and directed the university to return the
charge of the registrar to him but the vice chancellor was not paying any heed
to court order.
Qasim Jan, vice chancellor of the university, when
contacted, said that the case of the registrar was in the court and the
university would not comment on the issue. While the official spokesman of the
university, Dr. Nazir, said that it was only the vice chancellor who could
comment on such a sensitive issue.
In the second case, the vice
chancellor was allegedly not enlisting a project director on the payroll of the
university, a right guaranteed to the project director by the Higher Education
Commission (HEC) before the start of the project. The project director has also
appealed in the High Court and it has given a verdict in his favour but the vice
chancellor was allegedly not paying any heed to that verdict as well.
Abid Hussain Memon was appointed as project director for strengthening
the Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations at Quaid-i-Azam University with the
approval of HEC in August 2005. The minutes of the 30th meeting of the DDWP held
under the chairmanship of the HEC executive director stated: "The chair desired
that all major changes need to be justified and all undesired items should be
eliminated. It was made clear that institute is a constituent part of the
Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and after completion of the present project,
the employees of the institute will stand transferred to the payroll of the
university."
According to sources in the Quaid-i-Azam University, Abid
Hussain worked as project director of the Taxila Institute of Asian
Civilisations for two years and his contract ended in June 2007 but he sought an
extension of six months from the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The
extension was granted by the HEC but the university administration terminated
the services of Abid Hussain Memon on July 7, 2007, while the HEC had already
extended the project. The university administration did not enlist Abid Hussain
to the payroll of the university after the completion of the project. He went to
the High Court for relief. The court ordered the HEC and Quaid-i-Azam University
to give comments, on which the HEC had given in writing to the court that Abid
Memon was promised in the initial contract to be enlisted on the payroll of the
university after the completion of the project but the Quaid-i-Azam University
did not give its comments.
According to documents obtained from the
university, Abid Hussain Memon twice gave joining in the university after the
High Court's orders, once on 11-12-2007 and secondly on 12-02-2008, when the
court issued an order in his favour.
Abid Hussain Memon, when contacted,
said that he was denied enlisting to the payroll of the university despite court
orders. He said that he had appeared before the registrar but all administration
staff had no answer to his questions. He confirmed that he had twice given the
joining but was not accepted by the university administration.
The
official spokesman of Quaid-i-Azam University, Dr. Nazir, said that the court
has transferred the case of Abid Hussain Memon to the Federal High Court and the
issues which were in courts did not need any comments.
But Abid Hussain
said that the High Court has passed an order in favour of him and showed a copy
of the court's order to this correspondent in which the court has directed the
university to submit its comments within 15 days to avoid any punitive action
against the university. The News
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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