KARACHI, Nov 16: Head of the Karachi University’s committee on plagiarism Dr Mohammad Qaiser has warned of stern action against any one found guilty of plagiarism, resolving that the menace will be rooted out to improve the institution’s image.

Talking to Dawn on Friday, he said the 13-member committee, constituted recently on the directives of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), had held three meetings over the last few weeks to discuss various strategies to tackle the problem of plagiarism.

He said both teachers and students indulged in the unethical practice. “At the moment, three cases are being investigated,” he revealed, adding that findings of the investigation would be made public in two-three months. He, however, declined to name the departments to which the cases belonged.

Regarding action against offenders, he said penalties suggested under the relevant HEC rules (in the case of an employee) varied from withholding of an increment/promotion to the termination of services. He defined plagiarism as “stealing an idea without citing the original source.”

“From now on, there would be zero tolerance to any teacher or student found guilty of plagiarism,” he said, adding that the name of an offender and details of his/her offence could be made public through the media as per the recommendation of the HEC.”