ISLAMABAD: The unrest among the faculty members of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) over the vice chancellor (VC)’s recent move to remove the dean of social sciences has ended on the intervention of the President House.

On Friday, the President House directed the vice chancellor not to remove the dean social sciences, officials told Dawn on the condition of anonymity.

On July 3, Dr Javed Ashraf, the vice chancellor of the QAU, called Dean Social Sciences Dr Aliya H. Khan to his office and asked her to step down. However, she refused.

Dr Khan had said the VC asked her to resign otherwise he would use his connections in the Presidency to remove her.

It may be noted that only the president, who is also the chancellor of the QAU, can remove or appoint the deans. According to Dr Khan, the VC asked her to resign because she had differed with him on several issues.

Following the VC’s move, a majority of the faculty members supported Dr Khan and termed the VC’s decision ‘biased’.

The sources said five heads/chairmen of various departments of social sciences also held a meeting with the VC and asked him not to remove Dr Khan, saying she had been performing very well.

Presidency asks QAU vice chancellor not to remove the dean of social sciences

The issue remained under discussion among the faculty members and employees throughout the week. The faculty members through emails asked each other to raise voice against the alleged illogical move of the VC.

The sources said the Presidency took notice of the issue and called both the VC and the dean social sciences for a meeting which was presided over by an officer in the Presidency who deals with universities.

During the meeting, the VC was asked not to make any effort to remove the dean. The dean was asked to cooperate with the VC to further promote the top learning institution of the country.

“After Friday’s meeting, the issue between the faculty members and the VC has been resolved amicably because the Presidency has stopped the VC from removing the dean,” said a senior faculty member who requested not to be named.

In May this year, the QAU also remained in the news when the vice chancellor proposed the sale of 17 acres of the university land to the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. However, the faculty members and employees opposed the move. As a result, the syndicate of the QAU rejected the proposal.

When contacted, Dr Javed Ashraf neither confirmed nor rejected the Presidency’s interference in resolving the issue.

“I don’t want to discuss the Friday meeting you are talking about. I will not pass any comment on the issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dr Khan also refused to discuss the matter. “Since the matter has been resolved amicably, I don’t want to comment on it,” she added.

Published in Dawn ,July 13th, 2015

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