‘New appointments in AWKUM Pharmacy Department violate rules’

Applicants claim two posts advertised but four lecturers appointed.

PESHAWAR:

Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan (AWKUM) has recently come under the spotlight in the wake of increasing complaints regarding irregularities and favouritism in recruitment over the last five years.

Requesting anonymity, a candidate who appeared for an AWKUM recruitment test a few months ago told The Express Tribune the university had selected four lecturers for the pharmacy department. This was in violation of a published advertisement which only invited applications for two seats under Basic Pay Scale-18, he explained.

According to the AWKUM applicant, a screening test held by the university on June 10 helped shortlist 157 candidates, however, a person whose name was not on the list has already started working at the department as a lecturer.



“That employee is the son of AWKUM’s science faculty dean. The same dean was also a member of the selection board,” he claimed.

The second successful candidate, a 39-year-old, was selected for the pharmacy department though an age limit of 35 was mentioned in the published advertisement. The employee’s documents, available with The Express Tribune, show his date of birth as April 10, 1974.

Another applicant explained the third candidate was previously a student of one of the AWKUM’s selection board members,  as was the fourth candidate.

“These two candidates were selected at the cost of several other meritorious candidates,” alleged the applicant.

The appointment notification of these four applicants is quick to follow the lifting of a hiring freeze at AWKUM. The ban was lifted by the chief minister despite the university’s failure to provide data – requested by the Higher Education Department – on appointments made during the past five years.

Irregularities in scholarships

Interviews of shortlisted candidates who had applied for two overseas PhD scholarships in pharmacy were conducted on June 21. However, the selection board overlooked the top candidates in the merit list.

Three candidates who were at the bottom of the merit list were considered for an interview instead of those at the top. The candidates selected did not even fulfil the basic criteria for the scholarship – an MPhil degree – The Express Tribune learnt.

When other applicants complained about the issue, the selection board was compelled to cancel one interview. According to a university insider, a second applicant was also directed to submit her MPhil degree. The said applicant is currently pursuing studies in the University of Leicester in UK.

The AWKUM had to advertise the scholarships again on July 31 to fill the vacant slots.

AWKUM Registrar Dr Saeed Islam told The Express Tribune, no candidate or applicant had been appointed by the university yet; final authority of appointment lies with the university’s syndicate for appointments.

“The syndicate is the authoritative body for the final appointments,” said Islam.

The registrar further claimed no candidate was selected against rules and regulations and insisted the process was fair and transparent. However, he declined to comment on the matter of the overseas scholarship. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2013.