MARDAN: Several staff members of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan have been holding two or three key positions for several years and thus, adversely affecting the university’s administrative affairs and blocking the filling of those vacancies on permanent basis.

Insiders told Dawn that the university employees in question availed themselves of the perks and other facilities of all the posts they held but were struggling to do justice to their respective responsibilities.

They said the university’s students and employees had held several demonstrations, rallies, strikes, sit-ins and protest camps on and off campus on the issue but the administration acted indifferently.

The sources said not only was Shiraz Paracha was not only the chairman of the journalism and mass communication department but he held the top office of the quality enhancement cell as well.

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They added that Dr Saleemullah held three posts i.e. director (academics), chairman of the pharmacy department and dean of science, while Pir Asfandyar acted as director (admissions) and procurement officer simultaneously.

The sources said Fazal Ali Shah acted as controller of examinations as well as provost, while the administration had made deputy provost Ibrar Hussain the head of transport department as well.

They said assistant professor of the education department Dr Idrees Khan held the additional charge of the chief proctor’s office, chairman of management science department Qadir Baloch treasurer’s, and assistant professor of the law department that of the legal cell’s head.

When contacted, focal person for the university Fayyaz Ali Shah confirmed that several staff members held two or three posts of the university.

He said he was made the controller (examination) after he retired from Mardan Post Graduate College No 1 as principal.

Mr Shah claimed that he was forced by the administration to accept the provost’s post despite his unwillingness.

He said the higher education department had made Dr Jehanzeb Khalil the pro-VC and that all issues, including the multiple office one, would be resolved soon.

Meanwhile, the university students complained about high fee and said they paid three to four times more tuition charges that other universities’.

They insisted that student Mashal Khan, who was recently lynched by a mob on campus over blasphemy charge, had also raised the administrative issues, including multiple office and high fee ones.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2017