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Condoning the plagiarists
Sep 8: Nothing seems to
have convinced the Punjab University that it needs to take strict action against
its teachers found guilty of plagiarism, not even the prospect of losing a
stable source of funding. On Wednesday, the university announced its annual
budget of Rs2.83bn without taking into account the fact that it will not get any
funds from the Higher Education Commission unless it takes stern action against
the plagiarists. Since the allegations of plagiarism first surfaced in April
2006 against five teachers of the university's Centre for High Energy Physics,
the commission has been demanding disciplinary action against the plagiarists
because they had damaged the educational and scientific environment in the
country as well as Pakistan's image abroad. As a measure to get things done as
it had desired, the commission last year withheld Rs104m earmarked for the
Punjab University. No matter how desperately drastic the step looked, it failed
to convince the university authorities that the issue was too serious to let it
pass.
Ignoring the message that this withholding was intended to convey,
the university remains adamant and believes that the commission will still be
willing to finance 31 per cent of its budget for 2007-08. Even if denied the sum
- as is expected because of the commission's zero-tolerance policy towards
plagiarism - the university does not seem to care less. It claims that it has
other means of overcoming the shortfall, one of them being a Rs500m promised
grant from the Punjab government. There is no grudging the university's ability
to raise the money it needs for its annual budget but this should not become an
excuse for letting the plagiarists off the hook, not the least because it will
set a bad precedent for other institutions of higher learning. In fact, the
university had acknowledged in a meeting of its syndicate held in April that any
decision taken against the plagiarists "would serve as a landmark case relating
to ethical writing practices and research". But then the syndicate ended up
handing down very mild punishments. Given the autonomy the Punjab University
enjoys in running its affairs, there is little that the commission can do on the
issue other than a refusal to provide funds. Unless the university realises the
gravity of the problem, efforts to eradicate plagiarism will not go far
enough. Dawn
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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