HYDERABAD, June 8: The office-bearers of the executive council, Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam, have accused Vice Chancellor Dr Bashir Ahmed Chandio of maladministration, favouritizm and mismanagement of funds and development projects.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday, Sindh Agriculture University Teachers Association (SAUTA) president Dr Mohammad Roshan Waggan, who was accompanied by other office-bearers of the association as well as the office-bearers of the Sindh University Teachers Association, said the SAU was at the verge of academic, moral and financial collapse due to the inefficiency of the VC.

He alleged that Dr Chandio was lacking managerial skills.

He said the SAUTA had discussed university problems with the vice chancellor many a time but all in vain.

Dr Waggan said the new session of the university, for which admissions were advertized in Sept 2001, was yet to begin while the first term of the Sindh University, admissions of which were also advertized in the same month, had been completed.

He said admissions to the SAU had come down from 1,200 to 150 students causing a financial loss of about Rs7 million per year to the university.

He said the staff development had come to a halt as the approved strength of teachers at the university and the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Agriculture College, Dokri, had come down from the approved strength of 342 to 250.

He pointed out in 2004, 50 more teachers, including 25 PhDs, would retire. He added no efforts had been made to train young teachers to doctoral level and no incentives were being given to research programme leading to MPhil and PhD degrees.

He feared with the decrease in admissions and poor staff development, the SAU could be closed in the near future.