Harassment on campus: Probe body finds QAU official guilty
The controller of examination at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has reportedly been found guilty of sexual harassment and the inquiry committee has recommended punishments for his behaviour, sources told The Express Tribune on Thursday. The official had already been sent on forced leave after the committee started inquiry into charges that he sexually harassed a girl student.
A meeting of the QAU syndicate has been called on Saturday to discuss the final report pertaining to this and other sexual harassment cases.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Masoom Yasinzai, who has been presented with the findings, refrained from taking any unilateral action and instead summoned the syndicate meeting to discuss the one-point agenda in light of the report. The syndicate comprises lawmakers, university high-ups, representatives from the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and from the President House.
The syndicate will decide the fate of the two staff members who are facing charges of sexual harassment.
Back-to-back cases of harassment at one of the prestigious universities of the country at a time when it is planning to spread its wings and open its campus in Dubai has brought a bad name to the institution.
The first case surfaced on June 17, in which the QAU examination controller allegedly sexually harassed a girl student. Just a few days back, five female students from the Information Technology Department brought yet another harassment case to the notice of the VC, as one of their teachers was apparently intimidating them.
The students brought the matter to the VC’s notice by submitting a written application. Dr Yasinzai sent the matter to the same committee investigating the first incident. “Had the VC taken proper action against the controller and reprimanded the inquiry committee for the delay in completing their report, this latest incident might have been avoided,” said noted human rights activist and QAU lecturer Dr Farzana Bari.
However, in the latest incident, the teacher is still performing his duty and has not been sent on leave as the inquiry is ongoing. Unlike the controller of examination’s case, this time the teachers’ lobby is actively trying to protect the teacher, while in the previous case, the teachers were pressing the administration to take serious action against the controller.
Talking to media, students expressed their dissatisfaction about the working of the inquiry committee. They were of the view that the committee should expedite its proceedings to reveal the truth behind these serious allegations.
Dr Yasinzai vowed to punish those responsible, whether he is a faculty member or an administrative figure, if they are found guilty.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 22nd, 2011.
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