KARACHI, May 1: A veterinary university set up a few months ago in Sakrand has two pro-vice chancellors, a violation of the institution’s own act, besides 30 teachers for 60 students, it emerged on Wednesday.

The university, which has been offering an ‘unapproved’ doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) programme, has so far employed 90 people who had not been paid salaries for the past five months, said sources.

The delay in salary release is reportedly caused by the withdrawal of the vice chancellor’s financial powers by a former livestock secretary following allegations of financial and administrative mismanagement.

A letter written by the project director (Dr Nazeer Hussain Kalhoro) of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Sakrand (SBBUVAS) in March 2013 says that the vice chancellor (Dr Jaimal Dhanani) soon after his appointment on Oct 22, 2012 recruited employees in grades from BPS-2 to BPS-20 without advertising, selection board and approval from the competent authority, which was a violation of rules and the fundamental rights given in the constitution.

“He was communicated verbally several times but he failed to abide [by rules]. Therefore, he was finally communicated through official letter No. SBBUVAS/PD/2012-13/07A dated 1.1.2013 to refrain from such activities and strictly observe the rules and regulations in this regard. But he continued to deny the procedures and regulations.

“The undersigned is afraid that the number of employees of fake or illegal appointments has reached more than 90 by today. He was asked to cancel all appointment orders to which he initially agreed but hasn’t issued an order, yet.”

The project director alleged irregularities in the method adopted for the posts’ advertisement. “The university advertised the posts on Feb 16, 2013, without following the procedure for posts’ creation and approval from the competent authority.”

It was also alleged that the vice chancellor removed the project director as a co-signatory (appointed by the livestock department) during the third week of February and got released several cheques from the joint account of the university without informing the administrative department, the project director/co-signatory or the finance department.

Speaking to Dawn, Dr Jaimal Dhanani admitted that the appointment of the two pro-vice chancellors was a violation of the institution’s act, but argued that he was not consulted over the hiring of the second pro-vice chancellor who, he said, was appointed less than a month before the last day of the previous government.

Justifying the appointment of the other pro-vice chancellor, he said: “We needed a pro-vice chancellor for our proposed campus in Larkana. It was planned that the pro-vice chancellor would prepare a feasibility report of the campus project and supervise its civil works.” He said the campus building was acquired from an agriculture institute.

“Some renovation was also carried out but the plan has been put off to next year,” he said.

Regarding the ‘illegal appointments’ and delay in release of salaries, he said he could make appointments up to grade 17 for a certain period under the university act while the professors had been appointed by the governor in his capacity as the university’s chancellor.

“We have 30 teachers right now. Teachers are appointed according to subject needs and not according to students’ number. The institution hasn’t been accredited by the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council yet but a PVMC team would be called for an inspection once we acquire furniture and equipment for the university,” he argued.

He denied that he had removed the project director as a co-signatory, and said he “replaced him when the university employed a registrar and a finance director”.

“These matters were sorted out this week at a meeting with the livestock secretary and the salaries (amounting to Rs5 million) would be released in a few days,” he said.

Dr Ata Mohammad Panhwar, who recently joined as the livestock secretary, said the delay in salary release had occurred because the financial powers of the vice chancellor had been withdrawn by his predecessor. “However, financial powers of the vice chancellor have now been restored,” he said. About the ‘illegal appointments’, he said: “The project director was nobody to write such a letter.”

The project director was not available for his comments.

The PVMC, the professional body regulating veterinary education in the country, had earlier expressed serious reservations over the establishment of the veterinary university in Sakrand, a taluka of Shaheed Benazirabad district, for which the process of admission had been initiated even before the Sindh Assembly had passed a bill for its establishment last year.

No approval was taken from the PVMC before offering admissions, which is mandatory under the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council Act 1996. This was also a violation of the Supreme Court order 2006 according to which no professional institution could be set up in the country without the advice of the relevant regulatory body.