Financial inconsistency,nepotism, violation of Universities’ Act reported at Malakand University

PESHAWAR: Amid reports of financial inconsistencies, favouritism in recruitment, violation of Universities’ Act and changing the cadre and status of teaching staff into clerical one, the management of the University of Malakand (UoM) is claiming to have made great achievements and earned the top rank among the universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, the claim about top ranking could not be verified from any credible forum that conducts universities’ ranking at the national or international level. There are reports that the university has been facing problems under Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Gul Zaman.

The university administration has been accused of favouritism in recruitment. Appointment of a number of employees in different cadres has been made on personal likes and dislikes. Beside those recommended by influential politicians, some close relatives of the top administrator of the university have also been recruited allegedly in violation of merit.

Some reports suggested that efforts were being made to set up a new department of an outdated discipline at the faculty of management sciences to accommodate some contract/visiting employees who are closely related to top bosses in the university and senior politicians.

Sources told The News that the university administration has been unable to get new development and academic project. However, a good number of projects that had been approved during the tenure of the previous vice-chancellor are being implemented now and providing financial strength to the university, the sources added.

The university, according to sources, has also been violating the Universities Act-2016 by posting teachers against administrative positions. Currently, the offices of registrar, director administration, director admission, provost and some other administrative positions in the university are occupied by teachers, the sources said.

The latest news coming out of the university is that some 18 teachers of the University Public School and College have been posted on non-teaching positions. This has caused unrest among the teachers.

The teachers transferred from the school to the university have been replaced by low-paid staff on daily-wage basis. The issue has already been highlighted in the media.

Vice-chancellor of the University Dr Gul Zaman was perhaps not happy with the media coverage of the issue pertaining to the teachers. Reached by this reporter for his comments about the university affairs, he suggested that the university’s public relations officer should be approached for the purpose by the media as he was the right person.

However, he continued to speak to this reporter in a seemingly harsh tone. He said that he was a vice-chancellor and he should be approached through proper channel. He also used certain indecent words about journalists and journalism.

He said that the university has made some great achievements, but the media was silent about it. “Why don’t you report positive things? Why don’t you file a story that the university has got top rank in the province?” he maintained.

He further said that all departments in the university had their respective heads and they would be in a better position to respond to queries pertaining to their departments. “I can’t speak for everyone,” he said.

About the school and the posting of the teachers in the university, he said he could do nothing when the governor was not approving statutes for the school.

Later, the public relations officer of the university Fidaullah Khan, who is a teacher at the department of Journalism and Mass Communication of the university, told The News that the affairs of the university were being run in a smooth manner under the current administration.

He said the university administration had managed to overcome the financial issues. About the school, he said it was established in 2006 on the governor’s directives. However, statutes for the school could not be made in the last eight years, he added. “Since 2014 the university has been putting statutes for the school before the authorities concerned, but approval could not be accorded to it so far,” he argued.

“In such a situation, it was not possible for the university to run the school through the regular staff numbering 28 as their salaries were high and was costing the university Rs13.5 million per year,” he pointed out.

He explained that the regular teachers of the school were transferred to the university in their own pay and scale and posted against different vacant positions to save their future. “So far 18 teachers have been transferred and the remaining 10 would be shifted to the university soon. These staff members have been replaced by low-paid teachers on daily-wage basis,” he added.

About favouritism in recruitment, he claimed this wasn’t true. He said that if some of the employees are related to some senior university official it should not be counted as their demerit. He maintained that there was no plan to launch B Com, M Com or any other outdated discipline in the university.

About the violation of article 17(a) of the Universities’ Act and posting of teachers against administrative positions, he said that the act has been extended to university recently and it would take time to fully implement it.