HYDERABAD: The registrar of Sindh University clarified on Thursday that the university had not violated any criterion laid down by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) in the promotion of two faculty members.

The commission’s observation on the matter taken from a letter was misquoted and misinterpreted, he said in a statement.

He said the HEC letter was a routine matter and explained that a year ago some faculty members had raised certain queries

about the eligibility of two faculty members, Dr Arfana Mallah and Dr Ambreen Zeb Khaskhely, who had applied for professorship.

The complaints were addressed at the institutional level, detailed inquiries were conducted and presented in the syndicate for approval and after a due process both candidates were declared eligible for the post, he said.

Hence no question about illegality arose in their cases, he said, adding that the Jan 8 SU letter on the basis of which the HEC issued the said letter was misquoted and misinterpreted. He regretted that “certain elements are generating controversy which causes defamation of its statutory bodies for their petty interest and political rivalry”.

He said the HEC letter did not ‘declare promotions illegal’ nor was it its domain.

The SU had never violated any criteria laid down by the HEC, he said.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2016