HARIPUR: The government has ordered a probe into the alleged “favouritism and merit violation” in the hiring of faculty members at the University of Haripur.

The higher education department has constituted a three-member fact-finding committee headed by its additional secretary (university) to look into the matter and submit a report in the next 10 days.

The development came on a complaint sent by some “affected” teachers and technical and clerical staff members to the chief minister on Jan 27, 2026,against the alleged irregularities and merit violation by UoH Vice Chancellor Dr Shafiqur Rehman.

The complainants accused the university administration of making 58 faculty appointments in “violation of merit, ignoring PhD holders and exercising favouritism in the 2025 Selection Board”.

UoH admin says will cooperate with fact-finding panel

The complaint carried references of different departments of the university where the violation of merit was allegedly ignored.

The complainants insisted that in the process of making appointments on administrative posts, the mandatory NOCs and quota were not “respected”.

They also highlighted the issues of promotion and stagnation, governance, management and financial affairs, and governance in the six-page complaint. The complainants called for the formation of a fact-finding committee.

The UoH rejected the allegations and claimed in a news release that it carried out all its tasks, including recruitment, promotions, finances, examination, procurements, transport and administrative appointments, strictly in accordance with the Universities Act and the rules and regulations approved by the Senate and Syndicate.

The higher education secretary took notice of the complaint and formed the fact-finding committee through a notification on Sunday.

Additional secretary (university) at the higher education department Mohammad Farooq was made the chairperson of the probe committee and deputy secretary (university) Azhar Zahoor and the registrar of the Abbottabad University of Science and Technology its members.

According to the notification, the committee will complete its probe within 10 days. It is tasked with looking into the “allegations of nepotism and favouritism, procedural irregularities in the process of selection board proceeding, scrutinise the record of the selection board meetings, assess whether the appointments and recommendations made in accordance with University Act, determine if there’s any conflict of interest, influence of violation of merit occurred, fix responsibility if any on the individual found involved in irregularities or misconduct and propose recommendation for ensuring transparency and preventive measures for future recruitments.”

When contacted, UoH registrar Riaz Mohammad confirmed the development.

He said he and others concerned received the committee’s notification on WhatsApp but it had yet to formally reach the university.

“We are ready to cooperate with the committee, insisting every decision is made in line with the provisions of the University Act,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2026