Criminology turns into sociology: The ‘ghost’ department at University of Karachi that exists, but not in the eyes of court

Officials tell court that there is no criminology dept, profs and students say otherwise.

KARACHI: In what appears to be an attempt to dissuade the court from looking into a problem which is affecting hundreds of students, the authorities of University of Karachi told the Sindh High Court that their criminology department does not exist any more - but a different story has appeared in front of The Express Tribune.

Five months ago, a petition filed by a student of the criminology department brought the issue to the court’s notice - after five years of being enrolled for a doctorate in criminology, Nabi Bux Narejo was informed by the university in 2010 that the criminology department does not exist. Accepting this as a ‘mistake’, the university registrar offered Narejo a PhD degree in sociology instead.

Narejo found it hard to accept, however, that a department he was enrolled in and had paid the fee for had ceased to exist. The student approached the court which decided in his favour and the university administration had to award him a degree in criminology.

The loophole

More interestingly, the statements by the legal department of the university during the hearing have turned out to be contradictory to the facts.

A decision by SHC Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Syed Muhammad Farooq Shah stated that the counsel for the university, Moeen Azhar Siddiqui, reported on record that Prof. Dr Fateh Muhammad Burfat of sociology department - who was also the criminology department in-charge - had retired before October 17, 2012 “on attaining the age of superannuation”.

“They [KU legal department officials] are liars,” was the immediate response of Prof. Burfat when The Express Tribune contacted him to confirm his retirement. “I’m in service of the university till 2017.”

The court was also informed by the university counsel that the criminology department does not exist as there was no successor to look after its affairs. He had stated that the criminology department was created by a ‘single person’ by manipulation of the code of the university.

Ironically, more than 110 students were given admission in the ghost department’s evening programme this year. “I was made the sociology department chairperson and criminology in-charge in 2003 - since then, the university has continuously admitted students to the criminology programme for post-graduate and doctorate degrees,” said Prof. Burfat. “At the completion of their studies, students were awarded degrees that specifically stated they have studied criminology, not sociology.”

Meanwhile, an inquiry by the university, a report of which was also filed in the court on May 14, 2012, also backed Prof. Burfat’s statement that the university had given admissions to students and also awarded MA and PhD degrees in criminology. “The KU registrar has, however, conceded that these admissions were granted by ‘mistake’. But a mistake committed by the university cannot be rectified by simply writing a letter to the students,” stated Prof. Dr Abid Azhar, who was heading the inquiry committee in his report.

Flaws in the system

The university’s legal department has been under fire for its performance by the KU syndicate members whereas the KU deputy registrar for legal affairs, Asif Mukhtar, was awarded one promotion after the other, mostly without a selection board - a malpractice that was repeatedly challenged in the university syndicate meetings.

Separately, the counsel for the university, Moeen Azhar Siddiqui, is the brother of Justice (retired) Nadeem Azhar Siddiqui, who had served KU as the legal adviser for a long period. After he became a judge, Justice Siddiqui served at the KU syndicate as the nominee of the Sindh High Court from 2009 to 2011.

Another former legal adviser of the university who also later became a judge at SHC, Justice Muhammad Tasneem, is currently representing the court at the KU syndicate.

The university did not, however, appear to find any conflict of interest in this matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2013.