Upscale downside: NUML faculty hint at nepotism in professor’s upscaling

University claims decision was made following set criteria.


Our Correspondent March 05, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


The recent upscaling of a professor of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML) has raised a few brows among the university faculty, with some going as far as to indicate the possibilty of nepotism.


Among those perturbed over the decision is the head of the English department Dr Shaheena Ayub, who claims that Dr Sohaila Javed, who is an associate professor and the head of the Quality Enhancement, Research and Publication Cell, has been promoted in violation of the seniority rules.

She claims that she and another professor of the Persian department, Dr Tahira Parveen, are both senior to Dr Javed in experience and qualification, but their pay-scales have not been improved. “We have been bypassed in direct violation of rules,” she said.

Dr Ayub said even the committee formed to give recommendations on the upscaling questioned Dr Javed’s appointment, since she joined neither the Education department, in which she was originally appointed, nor the English department, where she refused to take MA classes saying that she was a PhD holder and overqualified to teach MA.

Dr Ayub is NUML’s first and only postdoctorate faculty member and has been with the institute for the past 26 years, while Dr Parveen has done her doctorate in Persian language from Iran and has been with the insitute for 28 years. In stark contrast, Dr Ayub said, Dr Javed has only six years of service at NUML and her qualification is “irrelevant”.

However, NUML Spokesperson Amir Saleem said that Dr Javed has been promoted from Basic Pay Scale (BPS)-19 to BPS-20 because she has a greater number of publications than the other two professors. He said they will also be promoted once they fulfil the set criteria.

Dr Ayub rubbished these claims. “Dr Javed does not meet the criteria for publication because poems and conference presentations do not qualify,” she said.

Dr Javed said she had not superseded anyone and has been awarded an upgrade in her pay-scale after publishing 10 research papers. She dispelled the impression that her qualification is  irrelevant and highlighted that she has completed her doctorate from Canada in interdisciplinary research. She said she has been teaching since 1981 and has more experience than the other two professors. She termed the allegations “rubbish and nothing more than professional jealously”.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

hafsa | 12 years ago | Reply

you have incorrectly spelt "professional jealousy" as "professional jealously"

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