Education official’s near miss over ‘plagiarism’
Sources say university administration was reluctant to cancel official's degree.
ISLAMABAD:
Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education chairperson Shaheen Khan narrowly escaped a potentially embarrassing situation when the issue of her alleged plagiarism in her PhD thesis almost came up at an NA Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday.
The NA Standing Committee on Education and Training met in the parliament house with Sheikh Rohail Asghar, of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in the chair.
When Rohail tried to open a letter and discuss the issue before the committee, Education and Training Minister Sheikh Waqas Asghar and Education and Training Secretary Chaudhry Qamer Zaman requested him to first refer the matter to the ministry to discuss it internally.
A member of the committee later disclosed to the media that the letter the chairman almost opened was written by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to the Karachi University after detecting plagiarism in Khan’s book.
The Karachi University had awarded Khan a doctorate degree on the basis of her book.
Sources said that the university administration was reluctant to cancel her degree and had written to the HEC, saying she would revise the book.
“This is a unique argument from any university that a PhD publication is revised once it is found plagiarised,” said a senior official of the HEC.
Khan was a former HEC official herself, before being appointed as the FBISE chairperson on deputation.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2012.
Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education chairperson Shaheen Khan narrowly escaped a potentially embarrassing situation when the issue of her alleged plagiarism in her PhD thesis almost came up at an NA Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday.
The NA Standing Committee on Education and Training met in the parliament house with Sheikh Rohail Asghar, of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in the chair.
When Rohail tried to open a letter and discuss the issue before the committee, Education and Training Minister Sheikh Waqas Asghar and Education and Training Secretary Chaudhry Qamer Zaman requested him to first refer the matter to the ministry to discuss it internally.
A member of the committee later disclosed to the media that the letter the chairman almost opened was written by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) to the Karachi University after detecting plagiarism in Khan’s book.
The Karachi University had awarded Khan a doctorate degree on the basis of her book.
Sources said that the university administration was reluctant to cancel her degree and had written to the HEC, saying she would revise the book.
“This is a unique argument from any university that a PhD publication is revised once it is found plagiarised,” said a senior official of the HEC.
Khan was a former HEC official herself, before being appointed as the FBISE chairperson on deputation.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 8th, 2012.