ICCBS entangled in power game

Donor interference in administrative matters has undermined the reputation of the national research institute

KARACHI:

Harmonious coordination between all relevant stakeholders is key to the healthy functioning and stable progress of any educational institution however, for the University of Karachi’s International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), the surfacing of internal dissent coupled with external interference in administrative matters has greatly hampered the repute and credibility of the renowned emblem of scientific scholarship.

Even though the five decades old institution has established a distinguished position for itself in the scientific world in terms of research, in recent times the unnecessary and unconstitutional interference of donors in the administrative activities and managerial appointments of the ICCBS has disrupted its smooth functioning.

According to sources of The Express Tribune, the crux of the matter concerned the recent appointment of the Director of the ICCBS, which was designated to a senior female professor against the wishes of the faculty, which had been rooting instead for the previous director and therefore started colluding against the new director with the help of the institute’s donors.

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Apparently, the dispute began when two faculty members who were considered very close to the former Director were asked by the current administration for details on an ongoing research project on cancer diagnosis, worth more than 200 million rupees. Instead of providing the details to the institution, they sent a complaint letter to the HEC through an email trying to convey the message that under the present Director the institution was at risk of collapsing and required immediate intervention.

“Some faculty members had issues with my appointment as Director therefore they started conniving against me with the donors and even involved the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the matter, which was a breach of protocol,” confirmed Dr Farzana Shaheen, Acting Director of the IBCC. Upon being probed on the donors’ objections on her poor performance as Acting Director, Dr Farzana shed light on the unprecedented progress that had been made in the center following her contentious appointment.

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“If my performance is to be judged, then it is worthy of mentioning that for the first time in 20 years our MPhil and PhD students have submitted a total of 41 research theses during the last 3 months, out of which 35 have been through viva voce. Furthermore, we have also contributed significantly towards the upgradation of the cafeteria and hostels,” she claimed, further adding that two donors had filed a letter against her
appointment.

The two donors are Nadra Panjwani, chairperson of Dr. Nadra Panjwani Memorial Trust, and Aziz Latif Jamal, chairman of Hussain Ibrahim Jamal
Foundation, who had termed the extension of Dr. Farzana Shaheen’s tenure as Director ICCBS detrimental to the institution and had taken a position in their letter that Dr. Farzana Shaheen’s tenure was marred by conflicts and mismanagement issues due to personal animosities among the administration and faculty. The same letter also restated the suggestion that Dr Shaheen ought to be dismissed from the post and another senior faculty member
should be appointed in her place.

In this regard, when the Express Tribune contacted Nadira Panjwani, ICCBS’s Executive Board member and author of the complaint letter she said, “This is our internal matter therefore, it cannot be discussed.” Furthermore, an attempt was made to contact Aziz Jamal, another member of the Executive Board and co-author of the letter, but the messages and calls were not answered