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HEC withholds Punjab University grants
LAHORE, March 14(Daily Times): The Higher Education
Commission (HEC) has decided to withhold a Rs 139 million grant of the Punjab
University (PU). The HEC is withholding the grant
because of the administration's delay in investigating the plagiarism charges
against five teachers.
An HEC official said, "The HEC chairman has
expressed his disappointment at the slow pace of the investigation. He sent a
letter to the PU vice-chancellor, Arshad Mahmood, on January 13. The PU
authorities were given a month's deadline to resolve the matter. They have
failed to do so despite the passage of two months and so a penalty must be
imposed."
The letter, available at the HEC website, reads, "The HEC is
considering taking stern action against the Punjab University for what are seen
as delaying tactics into the inquiry of an issue that has earned national and
international notoriety. The University has been warned that if the requisite
actions were not carried out within a month, the HEC would restrict funding to
it. The HEC would also consider the de-recognition of research degrees offered
by the PU."
The charges of alleged plagiarism against the PU's Centre for
Higher Energy Physics (CHEP) director, Dr Fazl-e-Aleem and teachers - Rashid
Ahmad, Sohail Afzal Tahir, M Alam Saeed and Maqsood Ahmad, surfaced in April
2006. Several committees have been formed to investigate the matter despite the
varsity's preliminary committee confirming the charges.
The teachers are
accused of copying an article by Prof Chris Llewellyn and publishing it in a
journal, Science in Africa. They did so without acknowledging the original
author's contributions.
The HEC has already removed Prof Fazl-e-Aleem's
name from the commission's list of approved supervisors of research.
PU
registrar, Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan, expressed ignorance of the HEC decision
to withhold grants. "We have received no word from the HEC in this connection."
HEC executive director, Dr Suhail H Naqvi, however, confirmed that the
PU grant was being withheld because of the delay in finalising the report on
plagiarism despite repeated warnings. "No grant would be released for the PU
until they resolve the plagiarism case."
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