Punjab

Poor performance: Ghazi University’s agri faculty faces closure

HEC letter notes declining admissions, poor research.

Tariq Ismaeel May 10, 2015

HEC Accreditation Director Nazeer Ahmad said the faculty had been placed in Category Y, indicating that the department was not meeting the minimum research requirements.

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

The Higher Education Commission has expressed concern over the performance of the Ghazi University Faculty of Agriculture and directed the university administration to immediately take steps to revamp it, The Express Tribune has learnt.

In a letter addressed to the vice chancellor, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, HEC Accreditation Director Nazeer Ahmad said the faculty had been placed in Category Y, indicating that the department was not meeting the minimum research requirements. He warned that if performance did not improve, the faculty could be shut down.

The director noted that the faculty had nearly 150 teachers and 100 other staff for some 450 students. He wrote that the department had an expenditure exceeding Rs100 million.

He noted that admissions to the college had been declining over three years. He noted that some 150 students had been admitted this year, adding to an existing student body of 350. The director pointed out that there were no enrolments in four specialties and two others had shut down.

He wrote that in 15 years, the department had produced no research on local agricultural practices and issues.

The director said the faculty had been equipped with latest laboratories and transport facilities were available yet there were no students to take advantage of these facilities.

He said since the Agriculture College had merged with Ghazi University, it had been embroiled in a number of problems. The director told the vice chancellor that if there was no marked improvement in the assessment next year, the faculty would be placed in Category Z and shut down.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Faculty of Agriculture Dean Dr Shaukat said, “We have indeed been warned by the HEC to improve performance.”

He said the faculty had been in Category Y for some time. He said several problems had arisen due to the merger with Ghazi University, which would soon be ironed out by the vice chancellor.

The Agriculture College was established in Dera Ghazi Khan as a campus of the University of Agriculture Faisalabad in 1998. Some 1,300 students had graduated from the college in 15 years till merged with Ghazi University in June 2014.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (1)

Sania Imran | 9 years ago | Reply This HEC news is half truth about performance of Agri Faculty. First of all about the number of students it is not the faulty or university or management, if students are willing to enroll in some other universities no one can force them to get admit here. For research only having staff is not sufficient someone ask HEC about how many project have the funded in UAF main campus and in CADGK? How many staff members of UAF agriculture main campus were sent for higher education under faculty development program and how many of CADGK? There were severl example of CADGK teachers who were three days attending their PhD classes at UAF and rest of the days they were taking their classes at CADGK. Now coming towards research facilities at Agri Faculty GU (Past CADGK) first of all the equipment available is of very basic nature but accepting HEC claim that there are modern research labs here but how much was the research budget given in past 15 years? You cannot just simply put transport, untilities and staff salary budget figure in total. Research is only funded by research budget not from staff salaries. Then I think HEC has no idea where Agri Faculty GU is located, there is no electrcity sometimes even for weeks now which equipment can run without electricity? Is there any internet services there which can be used for research purposes, citing literature etc? Then comes the water resources which is very very limited, land needs development, needs fertilizers, pesticide so who's gona fund that?? Since last three to four years it was already in the news that CADGK will be merged in GU and since that UAF totally stopped funds except staff salaries. Since last one year or you can say since commencement of GU the faculty is under dirty politics of najeeb (acting registrar) who shifted the classes from airport campus to city campus just to have a grip on it and its staff. HEC MAY BE RIGHT UP TO SOME EXTENT BUT THEY SHOULD ALSO REALIZE HOW MUCH THEY INVESTED AND WHAT THEY ARE EXPECTING?? In reality the CADGK management have done a lot with resources of peanut size. I my opinion this is not the criteria that in past 15 years 1500 students produced from CADGK. If those 1500 students were incompitent then how they were able to secure scholarships from different sources for higher education abroad? How they are able to compete and secure jobs and how they are successful in their current roles???

Replying to X