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PU Teachers' groups lobby for own VC candidates
LAHORE, Sep 10: Several teacher lobbies at
Punjab University (PU) are pulling strings to foil attempts by the government to
appoint an outsider the university vice chancellor, it was learnt.
These lobbies want the new VC from amongst themselves.
Arshad Mehmood's
term as VC will end on September 22. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has
advertised for the post in newspapers hence barring Mehmood from becoming the VC
for the third time. Also, the advertisement states that applicants should have a
PhD while Mehmood does not have one.
A senior teacher said that, "The appointment is a hot topic in academic circles and the Punjab
University Academic Staff Association (PUASA) and Teachers Front are trying
their best to get their man hired to the post. PUASA wants acting VC Dr Arif
Butt for the post. Dr Butt is from the Chemical Engineering Department and the
most senior teacher (from the service point of view) at PU. Also, Dr Butt is a
former Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) leader and most PUASA members belong or did
belong to IJT. The Teachers Front wants Dr Mujahid Kamran for the post. Dr
Kamran is the Physics Department chairman."
The teacher said both men
were very senior and close to the teaching community. He also said other names
for the job included Dr Mugheesuddin Sheikh, dean of Behavioural Sciences and
director of the Institute of Communications Studies; and PU registrar Dr Naeem
Ahmad Khan. "These men have a great record and have performed well at the
university," he added.
Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Salik, PUASA president, said the
association was not supporting any one for the VC's post. "We just want the VC
to be from PU and won't accept anyone else," he added.
He said Dr Butt
was working as acting VC in Mehmood's absence and the teaching community at PU
was happy with his work. "Dr Butt is a PhD and has vast teaching and experience.
He is aware of management issues at PU and is the right person to fix problems,"
he said.
A senior teacher from the Teachers Front said several incidents
had soiled the university's reputation including the plagiarism issue. One a
brighter note, research at PU was at its peak because of the large amount of
funds allocated by HEC, he added.
"Because of these reasons, we need
someone who is renowned in the field of research and management. Dr Kamran is
leading the science department and is also a senior teacher," he
added.
PU registrar Dr Naeem Ahmad Khan said HEC had formed a research
committee to pick a VC and selection would be on merit. He said September 21
would be the last date to apply for the position. The registrar said he did not
want to talk about him being the next VC. He said the next VC, from within or
outside the university, should have a broad vision and expand PU's academic
activities.
PUASA protest: Salik said PUASA would protest against HEC's
research committee. He said the committee members were ineligible for the job
because they were not from the academic circle and none of them had a
PhD.
He said the members included as Syed Babar Ali, executive director
of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS); Sartaj Aziz; Muhammad
Akram Chaudhry, VC of the University of Engineering and Technology; Khalid
Ikhlaq Gillani, education secretary; and the additional chief
secretary.
He said the process of selecting a VC from the non-academic
circle was insulting for the teaching community. He also said the research
committee had not done too well as it chose a bureaucrat for the VC office of
Bahawalpur University. "The candidate had not even applied for the job," he
added.
Dr Sohail Naqvi next VC? Another senior PU teacher said that there were reports that the government was appointing Dr Sohail H
Naqvi, executive director of HEC, as PU VC. He said these reports had surprised
the whole PU teaching community.
A HEC source said that because of
internal politics at PU, it was expected from the government to appoint an
outsider as VC. He said the advertisement for the post stated that anyone with a
PhD could apply for the post. He said Dr Naqvi could apply for the position, as
he fulfilled all the requirements for the post.
However, Dr Naqvi said that he had no plans to become the PU VC. He said news of the
government appointing him as VC was baseless. Daily times
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| Education News | | Updated: 25 May, 2012 |
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