PESHAWAR: An inquiry committee on Wednesday issued a charge sheet to the chairperson of the University of Peshawar’s Environmental Sciences Department along with three staff members for arranging a make-up test for former student and PTI MNA Murad Saeed in violation of procedure and regulations.

In light of the recommendation of an inquiry committee, which found that process of holding a make-up test on March 2 for Murad Saeed as ‘faulty and held in haste,’ the UoP had tasked a procedural committee under the University of Peshawar Employees Efficiency and Discipline Statutes 1977 to fix responsibility on the staff members, who helped the parliamentarian sit the test without approval of the relevant authorities.

Know more: UoP staff members face action over MNA’s make-up test issue

Dean of the Social Sciences Department Professor Adnan Sarwar is the convener and Professor Imtiaz of the Institute of Chemical Sciences and UoP legal officer Aimal Khan members of the committee, which sent the charge sheet to Dr Shahida Zakir.

Dr Shahida Zakir has been the chairperson of the Environmental Sciences Department since Sept 2012.

Other staff members facing the charge include coordinator of the BS programme Shehla Nazneen and teacher Dr Nafees Badshah.

Another assistant Muzakkir Shah, whose signatures were found on a detailed marks certificate in possession of Murad Saeed, was also charge-sheeted.

They all have been asked to appear before the committee and clarify their position within 10 days.

Chairperson Dr Shahida Zakir had resigned from the post of the chairperson of the department after Vice Chancellor Professor Rasul Jan held back the results of the make-up test and initiated an inquiry into the matter.

She quit the position saying she wanted to ensure fair inquiry.

Her resignation was accepted on March 31 and the charge of her office was also withdrawn from her the same day.

The charge sheet said the four UoP employees have followed a faulty process to arrange a test without the approval of the BS committee or the vice chancellor, only who could relax BS programme regulations to allow the test for a student to be held within two weeks after an exam if the student has missed a paper due to a genuine reason.

The UoP not only held the make-up test after five long years but it also looked the other way about the 75 per cent attendance required for a semester.

Although short of nine credit hours, the Environmental Science Department arranged a make-up test for the PTI MNA as he was found to be absent in two papers and results of one paper, Ecology, was compiled hurriedly in which he got 60 marks, according to official sources in UoP.

Murad Saeed finished the test for two papers in just 45 minutes.

The UoP vice chancellor stopped its staff from declaring the results of the two papers for which the MNA appeared on March 4 as fears of malpractice were raised by some quarters.

The vice chancellor also set up a committee to probe if the make-up test was held in haste or in violation of BS programme regulation.

On March 11, the inquiry committee submitted a report to the VC saying the make-up test was held in violation of the relevant procedure so the two papers were invalid.

It also recommended action against those responsible for it.

To follow up on the recommendation of the inquiry committee, the procedural committee has initiated the probe and issued a charge sheet to those staff members whom the inquiry committee had also interviewed.

“If found guilty, the staffers in question could be removed from service. In that case, they will not be eligible for government job,” said an official concerned.

Presented as a youthful face of PTI, Murad Saeed had been taking a lot of pride in being a fiery debater but he had been staying low since the issue of his degree and appearing in a hasty test became talk of the town.

Murad Saeed, who was elected from NA-29 Swat and publicised as the ‘young face’ of the PTI was quite vocal against the alleged fake degrees and corruption of political opponents in his public speeches and talk shows on TV channels.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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