GUJRAT: The top hierarchy of the University of Gujrat (UoG), including the vice-chancellor, registrar, treasurer, have allowed themselves an honorarium for running evening programmes, ignoring their at least 100 subordinates also working for the purpose, while a good number of faculty members await payment of their dues for their published research papers during the last four years.

On one hand the top varsity officials were allowing themselves these financial benefits, while on the other the UoG administration, has slashed the amounts paid to researchers for publication of their papers and faculty members for MS. PhD thesis supervision.

The previous VC Dr Nizamuddin, now serving as the Punjab Higher Education Commission (HEC) chairman, who launched the evening programmes back in 2008, neither claimed any additional financial benefits himself nor allowed these to any other official during his two stints (2006-2014).

In a recent notification (UOG/REG/20/26/557) dated 11 April 2016, the Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Ziaul Qayyum, allowed himself an additional benefit of Rs57,000 per month for looking after the evening programme (the notification is applicable from August 26, 2015). Registrar Dr Tahir Aqeel is given additional monthly benefit of Rs38,000, Abdul Waheed Butt, the Treasurer Rs38,000, deputy registrars 28,500.

Top hierarchy limits financial benefits to itself

According to sources, benefits amounting to Rs2.193 million were given only to 35 officials, including faculty deans, while the remaining staff working for the evening programmes was ignored.

A senior varsity official who had been denied the benefit despite working extra hours since the varsity’s inception, said that as far as payment for evening hours is concerned all public sector varsities, pay 60pc of the income generated from these programmes to the varsity and remaing 40pc was divided among all faculty & staff working for the purpose.

But, he deplored, the UOG VC had only obliged himself and those close to him, neglecting more than 100 employees working extra hours in the varsity administration and other concerned departments.

He said these benefits looked more odd when you see UOG’s sliding number on HEC Quality ranking chart (from 11 to 24) during the last two years. The issue of the varsity’s “nosediving” ranking was also raised by some faculty members at the last Academic Council meeting, who had stressed improvement in quality of research and education, he added.

As far as dues for research and teaching are concerned, the UOG administration committed vide a letter (UOG/Reg/020/27-D) dated Sept 10, 2012, after approval from the Syndicate, to pay Rs10,000 for papers published in an HEC-cited journal, whereas Rs5,000 for any local HEC-accepted journal. But the varsity has not paid even a single penny to any teacher or researcher under this head in the past four years.

In yet another recently issued notification (UOG/REG/020/27/492) dated 16 March, 2016, the varsity has slashed its rate for an HEC publication to Rs5,000, while fixing Rs10,000 for M.Phil thesis supervision and Rs 20,000 that of PhD thesis.

It is clearly mentioned in the notification that only those supervisors will be eligible for the payment whose students score at least 50pc marks, while in case of pupils failing to meet the criterion, the supervisors will get nothing.

According to a senior faculty member, under the arrangement it is in the interest of the Mphil and PhD supervisors that students should ‘somehow or other’ score high, even at the cost of quality of education.

As per previous policy, a professor would get Rs120,000, an associate professor Rs90,000, assistant professor Rs70,000 and a lecturer Rs50,000 for supervision of 3-4 M.Phil or PhD students.

In another notification, the VC UOG granted himself seven vehicles for his official as well as personal use. These includes one car, one twin cab (for protocol), two vans (for VIP guests), two vehicles for Islamabad Camp Office (being used as VC’s residence) and one for Lahore Camp office.

The varsity administration has recently rented two houses -- one in Islamabad and the other in Lahore -- for setting up VCs camp offices. The Islamabad office is being used by the VC Dr Qayyum as his residence in addition to the well-decorated VC House at the Hafiz Hayat campus of UoG.

This reporter made repeated attempts to contact UoG spokesman Sheikh Abdul Rasheed, additional registrar press and media publication, to have the official version on the issues, but he neither attended calls nor responded to the text message.

However, UoG Registrar Dr Tahir Aqeel told Dawn the varsity had issued financial benefits only to those officials who had served for the evening programmes.

About reduction in the amount for research papers, without implementing the four-year-old varsity notification issued in this regard, he denied the sums were cut, and said the fresh notification “has nothing to do with the previous one”.

However, a senior faculty member alleged the new order had been issued with the intention to withdraw the previous one later.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2016