HYDERABAD, July 26: A retired professor of the Quaid-i-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology, Nawabshah, has appealed to the chancellor of universities of Sindh, the chief minister and members of the Sindh Assembly to save the university from academic and administrative collapse.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club here on Wednesday, Prof (Dr) Abdul Aziz Umrani said that the university was set up ten years back but it had made no progress in the improvement of standard of education.

He said that the HEC had listed the QUEST among weak universities of the country due to poor administration and asked the vice-chancellor to improve the academic standard and get ISO certification upto February 2007.

He said that the university might be demoted to a degree college which would be a great loss to the people of Sindh.

Dr Umrani said that the university had not been able to start postgraduate classes and research programme which were the prime functions of any university.

He said that when compared to other professional universities, the standard of education of QUEST was poor.

He said that the students had become habitual of self-granted leave and the number of lectures remain incomplete which had led to copy culture.

He said that it appeared as if cheating by the students in examinations had become the official policy of the university.

He said that due to unfair policies of the university administration, four additional charges had been given to one professor who naturally could not cope up with the work load.

He said that he was also the management representative of the ISO but the progress remained zero during the last five years.

Dr Umrani, who retired from the university on January 2006, said that the senior and competent professors of the university had not been given any additional assignment.

He said that while the chairmanship of various disciplines had been given to less qualified professors, the PhDs had been ignored which was against the policy of the HEC.