No direction: UoP faculty in a muddle over new, old acts

Say old one should be repealed to implement new universities act of 2015

PESHAWAR: Faculty members at University of Peshawar are still confused over what rules to follow as the varsity is being governed by two sets of laws that exist parallel to each other.

Earlier, in June, Peshawar University Teachers Association (PUTA) filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court demanding that the University of Peshawar Act 2011 be repealed if Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Universities (Amendment) Act 2015 is to be implemented. Subsequently, the K-P government issued a notice on July 16 stating that the 2011 legislation had been repealed.

However, PUTA President Fazli Nasir has said the authority to repeal the law lies with the K-P Assembly.

“We have challenged the existence of two laws in the high court because all officials are confused about which set of rules to follow,” Nasir said.

When contacted, a legal expert, requesting anonymity, said the assembly has the right to pass a new law and repeal any previous legislation. “The previous act should be repealed to implement a new one,” he said.

PUTA is a representative body of teachers. The forum comprises 700 faculty members from UoP.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2015.