KARACHI: Karachi University (KU) will hold a special convocation at Governor House on March 16 to award honorary doctoral degrees to two of its syndicate members nominated by the governor, it emerged on Friday.

Sources said the university would award honorary PhD degrees to Haji Mohammad Hanif Tayyab and Sardar Yasin Malik.

Both individuals are in their second term on the syndicate where they act as governor nominees: the former was nominated on the seat of ‘aalim’ (religious scholar) while the latter on the seat of ‘eminent citizen’.

Last year Mr Malik had withdrawn his name from the list of those proposed for the award of honorary doctoral degree following its opposition by some syndicate members in a meeting held in October.

The teachers, according to the sources, who were opposing the recommendation wanted that the honorary degree be awarded to Haji Tayyab. Later, the syndicate decided to award degrees to both individuals.

“Yes, the university will award honorary doctoral degrees to Haji Hanif Tayyab and Sardar Yasin Malik to acknowledge their services for the society and the university,” KU registrar Moazzam Ali Khan confirmed to Dawn. The last syndicate meeting had approved the decision, he added.

“Mr Malik has established schools in the city as well as a professional development centre on the KU campus. Similarly, Haji Tayyab has been involved in a number of welfare projects and presently heads a non-governmental organisation.”

This move, however, is being opposed by a section of KU teachers who believe that awarding honorary doctoral degrees to sitting syndicate members is a “clear conflict of interests”.

“How could nominees of the government be awarded honorary doctoral degrees? It’s a sheer conflict of interests,” said Karachi University Teachers’ Society president Dr Shakeel Farooqi.

He said the award of honorary PhD degrees to sitting syndicate members would be the first case in KU’s history and this “unfair practice” would set another wrong precedent. “An honorary degree or honoris causa should be awarded to people who have done exceptional work in their field. It is unfortunate the university is awarding honorary degrees to its sitting syndicate members, who are government nominees,” he said.

The university, Dr Farooqi said, had attracted a lot of criticism when it awarded honorary PhD degrees to retired admiral Mansoor-ul-Haque in the early 1990s and former interior minister Rehman Malik in 2011.

“There have been repeated moves by the university syndicate to award honoris causa to people who are part of the government. We shouldn’t make this prestigious honour a joke that reflects poorly on the university,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2016