ISLAMABAD: The removal of Dr Aliya H. Khan from the post of dean faculty of social sciences has created unrest among the teachers of the Quaid-i-Azam University.
A majority of the faculty members opposed the decision of the vice chancellor and alleged that it was based on personal grudges.
However, Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf denied that he had asked the dean to resign. “She is very much the dean,” he told Dawn.
He said a group of faculty members was spreading false news. He said on Friday he held a meeting with Dr Aliya in his office and discussed the National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR) issue.
VC denies he has asked the dean to resign
“Yes a meeting took place but I never asked her to resign,” he said.
When asked whether he has any plan to remove Dr Aliya, he said: “I can’t say anything about the future,” he said.
Sources said Dr Ashraf had asked Dr Aliya, Professor of Economics, to resign from the post of dean but she refused.
“It’s true, I was called by the VC in his office on Friday where he asked me to resign. He told me that I’m no longer the dean of social sciences,” Dr Aliya told Dawn.
She said according to rules the president of Pakistan was the competent authority to de-seat her.
“The VC told me that he is in touch with an officer at the Presidency who will help him in getting her de-notified,” she said.
She said the VC asked her that she was incompetent and grabbed the post using her connections.
“I was appointed by the president of Pakistan in April 2014. If I’m a ‘Sifarshi’, it means the president appointed an officer without merit,” she said.
Moreover, the VC told her that he had already talked to’ ‘Mr Ahmed Farooq’ in Presidency about removing her from the deanship and she must consider herself as sacked from the post of dean.
It is relevant to note here that a few months back the VC had made headlines over his decision to sell a piece of QAU land to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). Dr Aliya was among those faculty members who strongly apposed the move.
Later, the University Syndicate turned down the proposal of the VC.
However, the VC while speaking to Dawn had categorically denied the reports.
Speaking to Dawn, Dr Ihsaq, a senior faculty member of the Chemistry Department, said: “I would just say that all decisions should be taken in accordance with rules.” He confirmed that Dr Aliya had been asked to resign.
Talking to Dawn, PML-N lawmaker Arifa Khalid, who is a member of the QAU Syndicate, said that there was grouping in the university. The lawmaker, who played the main role in turning down VC’s proposal of selling land, further said that all decisions should be based on rules and regulations.
“I’m not aware of Dr Aliya’s case. But I would like to say that there should be no role of politics and grouping in the QAU, which is a leading university of the country,” she said.
It is worth mentioning here that the other day, the QAU’s Syndicate due to various reasons didn’t approve the budget of the university and referred it to a special committee.
Published in Dawn July 4th, 2015
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