Toeing the line: PU set to give three employees permanent jobs in violation of rules

Letter announcing the vacancies was not advertised in newspapers .

LAHORE: Punjab University’s administration is set to give permanent jobs to three people employed on contractual basis in violation of various rules and regulations. The letter announcing the vacancies was not circulated in newspapers in violation of rules.

PU Registrar Dr Liaqat Ali wrote to the deans of faculties, directors of institutes and centres, and heads of departments on January 2, informing them about vacancies to which university employees would be appointed.

However, according to the University Calendar, all posts above BS-16 should be advertised in papers and recruitments should be made on merit.

The letter, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, states: The following posts are lying vacant in various departments in the University of the Punjab, Lahore. They will be filled by employees working at the university who fulfil the requirements.

The vacancies, in BS-17, include posts of a manager, a public relations officer (PRO) and a senior land officer (SLO).

A university official familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that an employee, currently working as the PRO on a contract, is set to be made permanent even though there is a sexual harassment complaint pending against him and his brother is employed in the same office in violation of rules.

The university administration is looking to make his job permanent, he said.

The PU official said the permanent post of SLO is expected to go to an employee, who is a retired official of the Fisheries Department and is currently an SLO on contract.

He said the employee being considered for the permanent post of manager is going to go to a contractual employee who has been handling the vice chancellor’s events hosted at the Executive Club.

The official said candidates for the posts of manager and PRO are required to have a master’s in second division. “No qualification has been laid out for the post of SLO, since the employee who is expected to get the position is 50 years old and graduated in third division.”

He said a notification announcing their recruitment was expected to be issued this week. The last date for candidates to file papers for the posts was January 15.

“The administration has verbally told other candidates not to appear for interviews,” another PU official said.

PU Registrar Dr Liaquat Ali admitted that the letter was circulated among the university faculty and employees only. He said he was not aware of the rule requiring the posts to be advertised in newspapers. “I don’t know for sure that it is a violation of rules. I can only comment once I have gone through the rules,” he said.

When asked about whether the administration had warned off other candidates from appearing in the interviews, he refused comment. When asked whether the three candidates had been selected already, he refused comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.