SU continues to make direct appointments, post teachers in admin

Move is in defiance of SHC order and NAB advisory which barred such appointments

HYDERABAD: In apparent non-compliance with the Sindh High Court's (SHC) order and National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) advisory, the practice of posting teachers in the administration and direct appointments on contract continues at Sindh University (SU). The varsity justifies the former with the contention that the teachers infuse professionalism in the administration and the latter with the argument that the syndicate has yet to approve NAB's policy.

"More than 150 people have been appointed directly on various posts without advertisement and merit-based recruitments in over a year since the new vice-chancellor [Prof Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat] joined last January," an official, who requested anonymity, told The Express Tribune. He claimed that the VC continued to make direct appointments even after NAB's September 22, 2017 advisory which was circulated to all public sector universities in Sindh in October, 2017.

On November 16, 2017, SU appointed Faisal Hafeez on contract against a vacant BPS-16 post of manager of petroleum services and CNG stations in Jamshoro. Interestingly, the station's affairs are overseen by a convener who happens to be dean of the faculty of commerce and business administration Prof Dr Muneeruddin Soomro.

Another contractual hiring against the post of BPS-16 transport officer was done at the Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Sindh University Campus Dadu district. However, through the office order dated November 29, 2017, Khursheed Ahmed Chandio was assigned responsibility of assistant administrative officer for the campus.



The official claimed that both the appointments violated the procedure of advertisement and merit. "If both the posts were vacant than why were they not advertised and filled through the process as stated in the apex court's orders and NAB's guidelines?" he questioned.

"The matter of appointments is categorically addressed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in [its order of] 1993 and many other judgments. Therefore, appointments in all grades should be done through advertisements and in the light of the said judgments," Section 22 of the advisory read. Section 26 further elaborates that recruitment in all grades of basic pay scale (BPS) should be done as per the sanctioned posts after proper advertisement and procedure.

"It was found that many employees have been appointed in grades one to 16 without giving advertisement," it observed. The guidelines, which were stipulated for enforcement, were issued after a NAB's inquiry of Karachi University led the bureau to unearth prevalence of similar irregularities in all government universities in Sindh.

"[Irregularities] have assumed the form of a norm. In certain cases, such irregularities got the sanction of forums like syndicates," the advisory, which focused financial, land utilisation, human resources and some other miscellaneous matters, observed.

The universities were asked to even make ad hoc and temporary recruitments through advertisements by following the same procedure which is applied to the permanent ones.

Similarly, the SHC Hyderabad circuit bench on September 18, 2017, barred SU from posting teachers in the administration. "An administrative post normally has no direct nexus with teaching. Hence, engaging such persons in administrative posts prima facie is not in line with [the] object," the bench had observed.



The varsity had contended in the court that it only posted teachers on administrative positions directly linked to education like the Quality Enhancement Cell. However, many teachers are still assigned additional charges of the petrol and CNG station, university's residential colony, provost of the boys and girls hostels, finance and even secretary of the VC.

On October 5, 2017, as assistant professor of the commerce department, Muhammad Hafeez Abro was assigned additional charge of secretary to VC besides his duty of teaching. Abro had previously also held the additional charges of main vehicle pool incharge, foreign faculty incharge and VC house incharge.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Burfat contended that he is empowered to hire staff in grades up to BPS-16 until NAB's advisory is approved by the syndicate. He said that the syndicate will hold a meeting at end of January, more than three months after the advisory was circulated, to consider the approval.

"The university is governed by the statute made by the syndicate, not the court's order or NAB's recommendations." Despite his assertion for the syndicate's sanction, his office has already forwarded the advisory to all officials concerned, asking them "to take necessary action for implementation".

With regard to the administrative posts, he argued that better management without teachers on certain posts is not possible. "The petrol pump and CNG station is earning around Rs5 million per month thanks to the dean's supervision," he claimed.