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KARACHI: Members of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the backbone of higher education in Pakistan are facing serious allegations while some of them are serving their second term as vice-chancellors in their respective universities. The appointment of the Vice-Chancellor for the second time after the completion of the first term deprives the deserving officers of their rights and also the status of a member of the Commission is continued against the appointment rules. Improving the education system will only be possible once the trend of ‘recommendation culture’ is completely eradicated.
According to the details, a total of 21 persons have been named on the website of the commission to run the Higher Education Commission. under the post of the chairman task force. The chairman task force has been appointed a person who had remained appointed in different institutions even after his retirement and becoming an obstacle in the way of the transparent audit. Surprisingly the name of HEC Chairman Tariq Banuri is not added with his post on the list.
According to the list, these members include Chairman Higher Education Commission, Executive Director Higher Education Commission Dr. Shaista Sohail, Chairman Prime Minister’s National Task Force for Science and Technology Prof. Dr. Attaur Rehman, Secretary Federal Ministry of Education and Professional Training Islamabad, Secretary Ministry of Science And Technology Islamabad, Secretary Higher Education Archives and Libraries Department Lahore Punjab, Secretary Higher Education Archives and Libraries Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Vice Chancellor NED University Prof. Dr. Soroush Hashmat Lodhi, Class Fellow of Sindh Chief Minister due to this he has been appointed Vice Chancellor of NED for the second time due to which he is also a member of the Commission from Sindh.
Also present were former Federal Minister for Education Science and Technology Shams Qasim Lakha, former General Surgeon of GHQ Rawalpindi Lieutenant General (retd) Asif Mumtaz Sukhera, President SZABIST Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Professor Bawani Shankar Chaudhry of Mehran Engineering University Jamshoro, Virtual University Former Rector Dr. Naveed A. Malik, former Vice Chancellor of Balochistan University of Quetta Prof. Dr. Javed Iqbal and Vice Chancellor of University of Balochistan Engineer Ahmed Farooq Bazai representing Balochistan. Despite allegations of involvement, he is being made a member of the commission, setting a unique example for the country’s higher education.
Among the additional members are Dr. Faisal Bari, Associate Professor of LIMS, Former Rector Lieutenant General (retd) Muhammad Asghar, Former Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Dr. Muhammad Akram Sheikh, Chairperson of Panjwani Foundation Nadira Panjwani, Prof. Dr. Arif Nazir Butt of LIMS and Secretary Colleges Higher & Abdul Shakoor Kakar of the Technical Education Department of Balochistan. Among the two members representing Balochistan in the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan are accused of being involved in serious crimes like financial embezzlement and sexual harassment. Former Vice-Chancellor of Balochistan University Prof. Dr. Javed Iqbal and Dr. Fariq Ahmad Baazi, the current Vice Chancellor of Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences.
According to documents, a video scandal at the University of Balochistan came to light in 2019 in which a female student submitted a petition to the university administration, in which the student said that the security in-charge, transport in-charge and a high-ranking official of the university have been blackmailing her for sexual relations. Dozens of other female students also filed complaints following the request.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Nasir bin Mohammad Naseem, an employee of the university’s boys’ hostel, had approached the Balochistan High Court, in which he asked the registrar Tariq Jogezai, senior transport officer Sharif Shinwari, acting in-charge security control room Saifullah bin Lal Mohammad and the university Of Balochistan as a party to the Constitutional Petition 1170/2015, followed by the Contempt of Court Petition 48/2018, after which the court, during the hearing of the case on July 31, 2019, ordered the Director FIA to complete it on August 26, 2019. Inquire and submit report through FIA Director Cyber Crime.
After which FIA Quetta registered Inquiry No. 162/2019. On December 2, 2019, SHO FIA Cyber Crime Circle Quetta Syed Abid Ali had submitted a 14 page report in the court in which it was written that the Vice Chancellor Action should be taken against Dr. Javed Iqbal, Registrar Tariq Jogezai, MTO Sharif Shinwari, Chief Security Officer Haji Muhammad Naeem and in-charge control room Saifullah. The report also proved secretly filming of female students which was also confessed by his front man Saifullah.
Similarly, a Departmental Inquiry Committee was set up by the University, which carried out the investigation keeping in view all the data, the report of which was submitted to the Vice Chancellor on June 23, 2020. Recommendations were made to terminate Saifullah from his job, end the two-year increment by imposing a minor fine on former chief security officer Mohammad Naeem, and compulsory retirement of former registrar Mohammad Tariq Jogezai as punishment, while the report surprisingly did not say anything regarding the vice chancellor.
According to the documents, on July 30, 2020, Additional Registrar Qazi Abdul Hameed Asif submitted Report No. 98/05-reg / UoB / SM / 88th / Syn in which all the aforesaid reports were placed before the members of the Syndicate, after which it was decided that Saifullah And Mohammad Naeem should be fired and as clear charges against Mohammad Tariq Jogezai and Mohammad Sharif Shinwari were not proved so their two 2 year increments should be stopped as punishment. In the same notification, the Registrar wrote that Secretary Education Department A note was written in the 88th meeting that the Vice Chancellor is also involved in this case so this case should be sent to the Chancellor after which the Vice Chancellor University Professor Dr. Javed Iqbal has resigned.
Surprisingly, former Vice Chancellor Dr. Javed Iqbal is currently a member of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, representing Balochistan. Remaining as a member of the Education Commission is a question mark over the performance of the Higher Education Commission, an institution of higher education.
The other member of Balochistan from the Higher Education Commission is Dr. Fariq Ahmad Bazai, the current Vice Chancellor of Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, against whom the Balochistan government is currently investigating financial fraud. A resolution was also tabled in the assembly last year to discuss the financial corruption of Farooq Ahmed Bazai in the assembly. However, there is no discussion on the said resolution.
According to the documents, in the reports released by Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, 11,807 students are enrolled in the university, from whom Rs. 30,315 in addition to the semester fee has been received. In this regard more than one billion rupees in a semester have been received, however, if the students studying on scholarships are deducted from the said amount, this amount becomes more than 80 crores. Surprisingly, the university administration has betrayed the government of Pakistan by disclosing the said amount as merely Rs. 23 crores.
In this regard, a member of the Balochistan Assembly said on condition of anonymity that Farooq Ahmed Bazai has tried to make him a participant by making him a slacker of several members of the Assembly. There is no discussion on the resolution in the assembly. He said that Farooq Ahmed Bazai had called him at his residence several times and invited him to meet him, but he refused to meet him. The member of the provincial assembly said that similarly other members of the assembly have also been procured due to which the investigation into financial misappropriation against Farooq Ahmed Bazai is not going ahead and so far the Balochistan government is in the process of completing the inquiry against him and soon a case will be filed against him in the NAB.
Education experts say that earlier there was no post of task force or its chairman in the Higher Education Commission. This post has been created and one member has been added to the commission. Former chairman HEC Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman has been made a member of the task force while the task force itself is a busy task. Despite this, Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman is also the head of the Advisory Council for the Scholarship. Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman was contacted on his mobile number but he hung up the phone after which questions have been sent to him and the answers will be published on receipt.
