FUUAST, HEC embroiled in controversy

Public varsity called out a recent report by commission for its apparent misrepresentation of facts, numbers

KARACHI:

Two contrasting reports, regarding the selection process of academic staff, have recently put the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Federal Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology (FUUAST) at loggerheads; and both institutions have asserted that their respective version is the truth.

The HEC had recently put out a report casting doubt over the appointment process of teachers at FUUAST and had highlighted other discrepancies at the university. Now, in response, through a separate report, in a meeting chaired by the Chancellor of FUUAST, President Dr Arif Alvi, the public varsity has accused HEC of misrepresenting figures of student enrollment, total number of teaching staff hired, and the number of teachers appointed under the Selection Board of 2021.

"The data and facts presented to the HEC by our university have been tampered with. Major discrepancies have been noted in their investigation process. For instance, their investigation committee has erroneously included candidates who were issued employment offers but did not join the university, among the teaching faculty. Furthermore, most of their conclusions on enrollment are based on data from the Karachi campus only, forgetting that the Islamabad campus exists as well," challenged a senior professor at FUUAST.

According to the response report by FUUAST, the HEC not only presented wrong figures regarding enrollment and number of teachers at the university, but also misrepresented the number of students and teachers at the individual Karachi and Islamabad campuses, which include 14,442 students and 263 teachers in Karachi and 4,103 students and 98 teachers in Islamabad.

In response to the HEC's misrepresentation of numbers, former Vice Chancellor of FUUAST and penman of the response report, Dr Muhammad Ziauddin said, "we had shared the complete data on enrolment and teaching staff with the HEC team, but despite this, the data given by us was not included in the report."

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The HEC report had stated that there were selection boards of many departments in which only one subject specialist instead of two participated. In response to this objection, the university report alleged that the HEC had tried to mislead the authorities because the quorum consisted of four members of the selection committee, in which the participation of two members was not mandatory and only one subject specialist was enough.

Furthermore, the HEC inquiry team in its report had also claimed that the selection committee did not give some candidates adequate time to speak. "The time given to candidates during the interview depends on their skill level. If the candidate knows the answers to basic questions, then the board does not ask them additional questions," retorted Dr A.Q Mughal, Member of the Selection Board, in response to the claim. Moreover, the HEC in its report had recommended to cancel the selection results of 2021; however, FUUAST refused to consider the sudden objection from the HEC terming it illegal to raise objections on the selection process after more than a year has passed.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on FUUAST's accusations of misrepresentation, Chairman of the Higher Education Commission Dr Mukhtar Ahmed said, "those who come under scrutiny for their wrongdoings are known to elicit similar responses. Now, it is time for us to take tough decisions regarding this university."

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2023.