UoP professor bypassed varsity to push for dean slot

Officials claim faculty member sent the case directly to the chancellor

PESHAWAR: A senior official at the University of Peshawar has apparently bypassed an official committee of the varsity to push through a move to extend his tenure as the dean.

Senior university officials told The Express Tribune that Pro Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Abid, who also holds the charge of dean for the Faculty of Numerical and Physical Sciences, had sent his case renewing his term by sidestepping a committee constituted to review his case.



Before going on a foreign tour in May 2018, University of Peshawar (UoP) Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Asif Khan had created a committee to review cases for renewing tenures of deans.

However, a senior UoP official — who did not wishing to be named — said that Dr Abid, whose tenure as dean ends on June 11, took this as an opportunity to allegedly persuade the registrar of the university to send his case for dean to the varsity’s chancellor, bypassing the committee which was tasked by the VC to check the eligibility of each candidate as prescribed in Schedule III of the Universities Act.

According to Section 12-B (2) of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act (K-PUA), the dean of each faculty shall be appointed by the varsity’s chancellor from amongst the three senior-most professors in the faculty for a period of three years, as long as they fulfil the criteria listed in Schedule-III.

Schedule III of the law states that a dean should be working as a professor in the respective faculty, must have at least 15 publications in journals recognised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC).



Moreover, the candidate must have demonstrated fiscal responsibility, the ability to manage budgets, proven leadership and management and supervisory experience apart from a proven ability to foster collaborative efforts by building partnerships with national and international organisations.

An official in the UoP Administration Block said that the chancellor, in a recent meeting with vice chancellors of various universities, had strictly directed that deans will be appointed as per the law and shall furnish a certificate accompanying finalised names as dean.

However, since the VC did not finalise the name and the committee was bypassed, Dr Abid’s candidacy does not carry the requisite certification.



However, despite repeated calls and messages, UoP Register Dr Zahid Gul and Pro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Abid were not available for comments.

Post waiting for ‘favourable candidate’

Separately, the post for the dean of the Faculty of Management and Information Sciences has been lying vacant for almost a year now.

A senior teacher at the varsity who did not wish not to be named, said that six months ago the selection committee, comprising Dean of Islamic and Oriental Studies Dr Mirajul Islam Zia and meritorious professors Dr Zafar Iqbal and Dr Jasmin Shah, scrutinised possible candidates in the faculty and have sent shortlisted names to the vice chancellor for further process.

However, owing to the ineligibility of a faculty member — who is apparently affiliated with a teacher’s group, the Tanzeem-e-Asataza (Association of Teachers) — the teacher claimed that Dr Abid had apparently halted the process.

This, the teacher claimed, was apparently because he is holding the additional position of Management and Information Science Dean in the absence of a permanent dean and wants to apparently influence the recruitment process.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2018.