SUKKUR: The Sindh High Court, Sukkur bench, on Tuesday issued notices to respondent officials of the Shah Abdul Latif University (Salu), Khairpur, asking them to submit their replies on a petition filed by Nasim-ul-Ghani, who has alleged gross irregularities, nepotism and favouritism in the recent recruitment of teachers.

Three identical petitions have been submitted in court including one by Advocate Abdul Sattar Mahesar, the counsel for petitioner Naseem-ul-Ghani. A third one has been filed by Fida Hussain Mahesar.

The bench has fixed the matter for October 27.

The petitioners have alleged that the selection board recommended appointment of many candidates who did not qualify for the posts of professor, assistant professor or associate professor offered to them.

According to media reports and social media posts, most of the unqualified candidates who were offered the jobs happened to be family members or close relatives of Salu registrar, assistant registrar, sitting and former deans, a pro-VC, a divisional commissioner and others. Some of the successful candidates were already serving at Salu as assistant or cooperative professor/lecturer. Some others were in employment of different government institutions or departments and had applied for a Salu posts without obtaining mandatory NoC from their respective authorities, the reports claimed.

According to these reports, the scrutiny committee that checked credentials of 42 candidates found only 12 of 42 candidates eligible to apply for the Salu posts.

Advocate Abdul Sattar Mahesar told media personnel on Tuesday that the Salu administration had advertised the vacancies through newspapers but it did not properly notify the date for interviews. He claimed that roughly 25-30 candidates were called through text messages for their interview.

While the petitions were in the process of submission, the selected candidates were allowed to join Salu on Sept 30, apparently to declare in court that they had been recruited before issuance of court notices, the media reports claimed.

A reliable source in Salu speaking to Dawn said that violation of Higher Education Commission’s directives regarding selection and recruitment process did take place, adding that two candidates, Muhammad Aslam Korai and Muhammad Bachal Korai, had also lodged their complaints to the chief minister in this regard.

The source recalled that the CM had already directed the Universities and Boards Secretary Mureed Rahimoon to look into the allegations of gross irregularities in the process but certain influential elements within the university got its syndicate meeting convened and tried to get the list of recommended candidates approved.

However, the list had to be withdrawn after some syndicate members and an HEC member participating in the meeting through video link raised objections over the manner in which the selection was made and recruitment recommended, added the source.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2022