MULTAN, Nov 7: The Bahauddin Zakariya University has cut down the two-month extension to the last date of furnishing candidature by the eligible professors for the grant of grade 22 posts (meritorious professors).

It is learnt on Friday that the university authorities have substituted the earlier order of extension to the last date set for the purpose with a letter issued on Nov 3 last. Interestingly, the last date for the submission of applications (according to fresh letter) is Oct 29, 2003.

The university had sought applications from its teachers for granting them grade 22, on Aug 20 last and fixed Sept 30 as the last date for submitting applications. Only the professors working in grade 21 could apply for the posts.

Four eligible professors — Dr Karamat Ali, Dr Hayat Awan, Dr Ashraf Chaudhry and Dr G R Pasha — applied for their elevation to the next grade within due date.

However, the BZU vice-chancellor, Dr Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry, ordered two-month (up to Nov 29) extension to the last date for submitting applications through a letter No Univ/468/Admn/5325 on Sept 29 last without citing any reason.

Earlier, the university syndicate had amended the policy of recruitment against the posts of professors in grades 21 and 22 at its meeting held on June 15, 2003. The new policy, notified through a letter No Univ-468/Admn/3649 of July 3, 2003, read as: “The syndicate after discussing the matter resolved that in-service teachers, who will apply against different posts of meritorious professors in BS-21/22, shall be offered appointment (if selected by the selection board) four months after the closing date of submission of applications or from the date of selection board meeting, whichever is earlier.”

All the four professors, who had applied for the grade 22, challenged the notification through a letter written to the VC taking stand that making appointments in grades 21 and 22 was the prerogative of the chancellor/governor and, therefore, the syndicate could not change rules of appointments in these grades.

Sources in the university told Dawn that the chancellor, Khalid Maqbool, had taken notice of the arbitrary amendments to the rules and had sought written reply from the VC. A university official said no more applications were received during the extended period of filing applications. He said the university management wanted to favour some of the professors in grade 20, whose cases for grade 21 had yet to be decided by the chancellor. The date for the submission of applications for grade 22 was extended on the written request of two of such professors, he said.