PESHAWAR: Khyber Medical University (KMU) has expelled three employees including a lecturer and a professor on charges of harassment and plagiarism.

According to a press release, a lecturer of the university in BPS-18 was forced to resign on the recommendation of anti-harassment committee after he was found guilty of harassment. The committee probed the matter after receiving complaints from staff and students, it said.

It said that there was absolutely no room for plagiarism as evidenced by the dismissal of a professor in BPS-21 with the approval of the syndicate in recent days. At the same time, a Class-IV employee was also dismissed from service after he was found guilty of corruption, it added.

KMU Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq said that it was his mission to make the institution transparent and corruption-free and in that regard he would neither accept any pressure nor act expediently.

“We have adopted a policy of zero tolerance for sexual harassment, plagiarism and corruption in KMU. The policy is strictly implemented,” he added.

He said that the harassment committee of the university was working in a transparent environment and the complaints received to it were immediately acted upon.

He said that there was no room for any form of sexual harassment in KMU and its affiliated institutes as it was not acceptable under any circumstances.

Prof Zia said that within a few days, a BPS-21 professor was found guilty of plagiarism, a PBS-18 lecturer was accused of sexual harassment and a Class-IV employee was removed from service for financial embezzlement.

“These are the practical proofs and examples of making KMU an ideal university in every aspect. Without a culture of ‘reward and punishment’, a society can neither survive nor develop,” he added.

He said that KMU was a rapidly developing modern medical university where special attention was paid to teaching and research as well as the promotion of best ethical values.

He said that the university was trying to fulfil public aspirations and all the staffers were working as a family and team.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023