KARACHI: The ongoing tussle between the chairperson of Karachi University’s (KU) biotechnology department and some teachers for the past many years is likely to aggravate in the coming days after the university syndicate recently decided to remove the incumbent head of the department on charges of ‘inappropriate behaviour’, sources told Dawn.

The decision, they said, was taken in a recently-held syndicate meeting that also decided to depute private guards at university gates for security purposes.

According to sources, the syndicate, with a majority of votes, removed Prof Mustafa Kamal heading the biotechnology department from the chairmanship.

The decision was taken in the light of a report submitted by a committee set up last year constituted by the statutory body to investigate allegations levelled by staff members against Prof Kamal.

The committee that comprised Prof Khalid Iraqi, Prof Kaleem Raza, Prof Syed Anees Ahmed Zaidi and Prof Fayyaz Hussain Madni, sources said, had submitted its report earlier this year.

According to the committee’s findings, the chairman in question often ‘threatened’ the staff members and was accused of not forwarding official letters to them. He, the report says, was also found to be involved in making ‘unauthorised appointments’ and not letting some non-teaching staff members join their service.

It also points out that the chairman refused to appear before the committee and present his stance over the reservations of the teachers. Rather, it says, he sent notices through his advocate that warned the committee members and the vice chancellor of legal action if they continued with the investigation.

The report, sources said, suggested the syndicate take administrative action against the department chairman, remove him immediately and allow the dean faculty of social sciences to take additional charge and replace him.

According to sources, all teachers attending the syndicate meeting last Saturday supported this removal except for one member, who however, did not give his note of dissent in writing.

Speaking to Dawn, Prof Kamal rejected this information and questioned how the syndicate could remove him from the chairmanship when his case was already in the court.

“The syndicate was told that the case is pending in the Sindh High Court since October last year and there was no decision on my removal.

“The court is hearing my case in which I have challenged all the allegations levelled against me,” he said in response to a question, contending that there was no evidence that could substantiate the accusations that he had threatened teachers.

KU registrar Dr Moazzam Ali Khan, however, refuted Prof Kamal’s claim that the court was hearing the case and said that the university would never take a decision on a matter pending in the court.

“Had that been the case, the syndicate would never pursue the matter,” said Dr Khan, confirming that action against the department chairman was taken on the basis of ‘inappropriate behaviour’.

He argued that the matter was purely KU’s internal administrative issue and the syndicate had the authority to appoint teachers as department chairpersons as well as remove them from the post.

On the syndicate’s approval for hiring private staff for security, he said that the body had decided in principle to depute private guards only at the university gates and the decision’s financial implications would be looked into at a later stage.

He denied reports printed in a section of the press that the syndicate had decided to allow a reputed family to build a medical college and hospital on the university premises and said that proposals from some parties were under consideration but no decision had yet been taken on the matter.

“Though members of the syndicate did debate over extending the retiring age limit, no consensus emerged on the matter,” he said while commenting on reports that teachers wanted the limit for retiring age to be extended from 60 to 65.

According to sources, the forum also failed to build a consensus over up-gradation of non-teaching posts. It approved, however, appointments of departments chairpersons.

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2015

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