On campus: White paper on ‘corruption’, ‘nepotism’ at QAU issued

Top boss allegedly violating rules in awarding contracts; VC terms allegations ‘baseless.’

ISLAMABAD: Associations of the premiere university of the capital have alleged rampant corruption, nepotism and violation of set standards and rules in various departments of the university.

“Contracts for construction of several buildings are being given to a person who is the blue-eyed of the VC,” Academic Staff Association Chairman Waheed Iqbal Chaudhry claimed.



Flanked by secretary-generals of the Officers Welfare Association and Employees Welfare Association, Chaudhry at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday issued a white paper about the past four years’ performance of the QAU under the Vice-Chancellor Masoom Yasinzai and Registrar Shafiqur Rehman.

He was of the view that instead of addressing the problems the VC Yasinzai was threatening those raising voice against the malpractices.

Recently, a syndicate meeting of the varsity approved appointment of a teacher of the electronics department as Director Information Technology, he said. “It is against the green book and statues of the varsity,” the ASA president claimed.

Chaudhry said that the VC and the registrar were also creating hurdles in the promotion of International Relations Department Associate Professor Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad who was currently on deputation at Oxford University as a Quaid-i-Azam fellow.

However vice-chancellor Masoom Yasinzai termed all the allegations baseless and said that the person representing the academic staff himself was at the receiving end due to many issues and it was a hedging attempt on his part.



“There is no proof of  any blame and if anybody proved the malpractices I will leave without any delay,” he said, adding that he never let the associations at the university flourish and politicise the environment that was why such attempts were being made.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2014.