KARACHI: The appointment of Vice Chancellor Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Prof. Dr. Amjad Siraj Memon, is in jeopardy after irregularities were revealed in the appointment.
According to a notification issued by the Sindh Government’s Universities and Boards Department, Prof. Dr Amjad Siraj Memon, who took over as Vice Chancellor on June 23, was second in the list of recommendations sent the Search Committee sent to Chief Minister.
JSMU Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Lubna Ansari Baig was the first recommendation but she was overlooked and the second number candidate was appointed as Vice Chancellor by the Sindh government
Consequently, Dr Lubna Baig approached the court over the irregularities in the appointment. She stated that the search committee had given her 70 marks as a candidate for JSMU Vice Chancellor and was placed first on the list of recommendations.
Dr Amjad Siraj Memon, Principal Dow Medical College, was shortlisted for second place with 67 marks, while Dr Khawaja Mustafa Qadri was shortlisted for third place with 48 marks.
The petition filed was approved by the court for hearing. The Sindh High Court has made the appointment of newly appointed vice-chancellor conditional on a final decision.
In the petition, Dr Lubna Baig has taken the position that Dr Amjad Siraj Memon has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor on the basis of favouritism and merit was blatantly violated. Therefore, she stated that the decision should be taken on merit and the appointment of Dr Memon should be cancelled.
The petitioner’s counsel requested the court to suspend the notification till the final decision. However, the court has issued notices to both parties as well as the concerned government officials and directed them to appear before the next hearing. ۔
In her case, Dr Lubna cites a court decision that states that Dr Naushad Sheikh, the second-ranked candidate in the final list of candidates, was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Dow Medical University. The first ranked candidate Dr Saeed Qureshi had approached the court after which the court had ordered to appoint him as Vice Chancellor.
