KARACHI: The controversy over the selection process of the vice chancellor of the University of Karachi is not yet over as two senior professors, who had been rejected for the post, have approached the Sindh chief minister asking him to cancel the findings of a search committee and hold interviews again “with full transparency”.

Prof Dr Moonis Ahmar and Prof Dr Jamil H. Kazmi wrote a letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn, to the chief minister and contested the appointment of Prof Khalid Mehmood Iraqi as KU vice chancellor alleging that the search committee that interviewed the candidates on June 16 was “totally biased, hostile and favoured him”.

“Furthermore, there is a conflict of interest between the head of the search committee [Dr Tariq Rafi] and Dr Iraqi because he co-authored two articles in research journals with Dr Iraqi and his wife is doing PhD in the genetics department, which questioned his neutrality,” the July 31 letter says.

Prof Ahmar and Prof Kazmi along with Prof Iraqi were shortlisted for the post of KU VC by the search committee last month.

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Their letter also refers to the Jan 26 order of the Sindh High Court according to which the government officials concerned were required to upload the video recording of the candidates’ interviews. “To the best of knowledge of the undersigned, the in-camera video hasn’t been uploaded on the website of the government of Sindh. We demand that the in-camera video should be uploaded on the website of the government of Sindh and also shared in the court of law.”

It alleges mala fide intentions in the manner interviews were conducted and numbers were given to the candidates.

“Kindly note that both of us worked as Meritorious Professors in B-22 and our academic credentials, apart from administrative and teaching experience also include foreign post-doctoral research, research projects and research publications in renowned international journals.

“Kindly note that Dr Khalid Iraqi is not a Meritorious Professor and twice rejected by the selection board. Furthermore, we should be told why we were not selected for the post of vice chancellor,” the letter says.

When contacted, Dr Tariq Rafi, also the chairman of Sindh Higher Education Commission (SHEC), denied the allegations raised by the teachers, contending that the search committee comprised five individuals, two of them senior bureaucrats, who independently ranked the candidates.

“Even, if my marks [given to Dr Iraqi] were taken out of the whole process, he would still rank higher than other candidates as he received greater numbers from other committee members as well,” he said.

About the in-camera recording of the interviews, he said that he would contact the official concerned to get it uploaded on the government’s website.

“My wife got enrolled for the doctoral studies eight years back and it’s completely absurd to say this influenced the selection process now in any way,” he said, adding that the co-authored papers were published when he was heading the Jinnah Sindh Medical University and not the provincial HEC.

About the twice rejection in the selection board, KU vice chancellor Prof Iraqi clarified that he applied for Meritorious Professorship only once. “It was, perhaps, in 2016. I wasn’t shortlisted.”

Meanwhile, in a related development, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court has sent back the petition filed against the procedure of appointment of KU vice chancellor to the Sindh High Court and directed that the top court of the province should take a decision after examining all the facts.

Last month, the chief minister had appointed Prof Iraqi as KU vice chancellor for a term of four years.

The selection process had remained controversial since the post was advertised in May 2019.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2022