Time to move: NUML teachers look for greener pastures

Mass exodus on the cards as new rules restrict career advancement opportunities for civilian faculty.

ISLAMABAD:

A large number of faculty members of the National University of Modern Language (Numl) have decided to join other universities after seeing little chance of career growth in the university.

A source in the university told The Express Tribune that a large number of faculty members have applied to International Islamic University and Quaid-i-Azam University, which have recently advertised faculty positions in various departments. The sources added that these faculty members have also applied for NOCs from the university, a mandatory requirement for applying to other institutions.

“Over 500 civilian faculty members are perturbed after the new amendment in the University Ordinance, which does not protect their interest as far as career growth is concerned,” said a faculty member on condition of anonymity.

According to the new rules, the rector and director-general of the university must hold the military rank of brigadier or higher and civilian members do not qualify for these senior positions. Despite being a teaching institution, academic qualification and relevant experience have no value for getting posted on top posts in the varsity.

Another professor said that the situation has created an environment of “despair and despondency” among the faculty, who do not see any chance of career growth as the previous rector had appointed many superannuated people as deans and heads of departments, ignoring the sound academic backgrounds of many qualified faculty members. The new amendment, recently approved by a NA standing committee, further disappointed the faculty, the teacher added.

Despite objections raised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the committee approved the amendment and authorized the Chief of Army Staff, who is the chairperson of the university’s board of directors, to appoint any senior army officers as rector or director-general of the university.

The tug of war between the civilian faculty and military officers who hold administrative positions is not new, as it had been painfully visible, especially to the students, for many years. Just a couple of years back, a brigadier thrashed a teacher, resulting in a wide range of protests; the issue culminated with the brigadier resigning under pressure from the faculty and student body.

NUML was established by former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972 as the National Institute of Modern Languages (NIML), with a mandate to give language training to military and foreign office staff. Another objective of NIML was translation of Urdu literature into foreign languages, but this objective was never met during its four decades of existence.

The institute was placed under military control in 1979 during General Ziaul Haq’s regime. In 2000, the next military dictator, Pervez Musharraf, converted the institute into a full-fledged university and brought it under the control of HEC through an ordinance. However, the GHQ-backed rector, who led the university for almost ten years, never followed the set criteria of the HEC while appointing faculty and head of the departments and ran the institute like a family business. After his forced removal from the university, the Chief of Army Staff appointed a retired major general as the rector.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2011.