ISLAMABAD, July 25: A three-member team reached Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi on Wednesday to investigate the alleged violation of rules during interviews that were held for the appointment of over one hundred faculty members and some other staff in the university.

According to sources, the team comprising of Additional Secretary (Admin) Department of Agriculture Punjab Ameer Khattak, Director General Adaptive Research Punjab Masood Qadir and Deputy Director Admin Rana Safdar demanded the university administration to provide all the relevant record and looked into it.

They also had a meeting with the management of the university and the relevant staff who had conducted the allegedly dubious interviews.

General Secretary Academic Staff Association (ASA), Prof Fayyazul Hassan Sahi while talking to Dawn said that rules had been violated during the appointment process due to which the inductions were liable to be declared illegal.

“We contacted all relevant departments to look into the matter due to which the agriculture department intervened and stopped the process of selection,” he said.

Another officer requesting not to be named said: “Management of the university was trying to appoint its blue-eyed boys in the university without following merit which might have made the quality of education to suffer.

“The university ranked 7th in the Higher Education Commission’s recent ranking but it might lose the position next year.”

It is to mention that upon retirement of the regular vice chancellor, Prof Irfanul Haq was given the charge of the acting VC in last week of May till July 29 (age of his superannuation) to run the day-to-day affairs of the university.

The acting VC, however, advertised 129 posts, days before his retirement. On this, all the elected members of the university syndicate and the ASA opposed the hiring process.

The chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) also took notice of the issue and asked the VC to stop the process.

Member of investigation team, Masood Qadir while talking to Dawn said that some record had been seen by the probe body but it would take two more days to check the whole of it.

“The team has been investigating alleged violation of the rules in the hiring process.

Moreover, allegation regarding appointment of the relatives of persons who are in management is also being probed after which a detailed report will be prepared,” he added.