January 31, 2003	Friday	Ziqa’ad 27, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 30: A number of irregularities have been detected in admission process of the Quaid-i-Azam University, but the officials responsible have still not been taken to task.

Talking to this reporter, a senior faculty member of the university said if the practice continued, the QAU, known for its high educational standards over the years, would lose its prominence among the public sector universities.

He said: “Every year, we hear stories about admissions to various departments of the university, in violation of rules and regulations, but the officials responsible remain unpunished.”

A number of inquiry committees were constituted to investigate such cases, but to no avail.

In one such case, a girl student was admitted to M.Phil programme of Mathematics department in spring semester of 2002, by giving additional marks in the written test.

The issue was brought to the notice of the vice-chancellor and the Advanced Studies and Research Board in March 2002 on the complaints of the students who, despite having better academic records, were denied admission to the programme.

During the investigations, it was confirmed that the girl student, who, at present, is studying in third semester, was given undue favour. However, the university administration has still not decided the case.

When contacted, the Mathematics department chairman confirmed that she was given extra marks in the written examination, which, he claimed, was a criminal act.

He said it was yet to be decided whether the third-semester M.Phil student had any legal status. However, the university administration had allowed her to continue with her studies till the time it took final decision.

“As chairman of the department, I do not accept her as a legal student, but it is up to the administration to decide the issue,” he said.

When asked as to what were the reasons behind the inordinate delay in the inquiry, the chairman said it was the common practice in the government sector.

Similarly, a year ago, an admission, on the basis of fake documents, was pointed out in the electronics department, sources said. The student, whose admission had been cancelled by the admission branch of the QAU, was son of a university employee in the transport department.

But so far, no significant action has been taken, except issuance of a show-cause notices to the accused, the sources said.

They said a strong network, comprising people in university administration and faculty, initiated back-door manoeuvring at the time of admission to favour their relatives.