PESHAWAR: The Hazara University Mansehra is likely to lose 28 foreign qualified PhD scholars on expiry of their service bond as the varsity administration has yet to give them due status.

The relevant staff members told Dawn that under the Higher Education Commission policy, the teachers, who did PhDs abroad at government expenses, were to be promoted as assistant professors in BPS-19 soon after homecoming.

They, however, said 28 such teachers awaited promotion even three years after they rejoined the university.

Promotion denied to 28 such teachers for three years

“Such PhD scholars are determined to quit the university at the expiry of their service bond as some private and public universities have offered them to join them,” a staff member said.

He said before going abroad for PhDs at government expenses, the selected teachers signed bonds with the university under which they were bound to work with the university for five years after completion of higher studies. The staff member said the signing of bond by such teachers was compulsory under the HEC criteria.

A teacher said: “We will teach for another one and a half years in the university until the expiry of the bond.” He said the university had failed to hold the selection board’s meeting during the last three years.

The teacher said the university administration convened the selection board’s meeting in the middle of 2014 but cancelled it a day before without giving any reason.

Officials at the Higher Education Department told Dawn that the government spent more than Rs10 million each on such teachers only because it wanted to provide students with the best teachers.

They said ultimately, students would be on the receiving end if such teachers quit.

An official said the mala fide intent of the university administration was to blame for the matter.

“Currently, several of the foreign qualified teachers are eligible for the post of associate professor in BPS-20 due to their research publications in international journals and length of service,” he said.

The official said such teachers had also appealed to the syndicate of the university to revise their service bond.

When contacted, acting vice chancellor of Hazara University Dr Sohail Shehzad said the issue of Tenure Trick System and Basic Pay Scale delayed the promotion of PhD scholars but it was later resolved.

“After the issue was resolved, posts were advertised for promotion. Teachers applied for it but someone moved the court and got a stay order. The matter has been sub judice since then,” he said.

Dr Sohail said the promotion process would begin on the very day the court vacated the stay order.

He said the selection board’s meeting was cancelled on the HED’s directives a day before it was scheduled to happen in 2014.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2015

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