PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has sought comments from the higher education department and pro-vice chancellor of the Women University Swabi about a petition seeking removal of the university’s vice-chancellor and cancellation of appointments made by her since last year.

A bench consisting of Justice Roohul Amin Khan and Justice Syed M Attique Shah issued the order after holding preliminary hearing into the petition of several Swabi residents, including lawyers and former councillors, who alleged that Vice-Chancellor Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi had made several illegal appointments, mostly from her native Sindh province.

It ordered the department and pro-VC to file comments about the petition within a fortnight.

The respondents in the case included the provincial governor as the WUS chancellor, higher education department, WUS pro-VC, VC, syndicate and registrar, and 15 teachers and staff members allegedly appointed by the VC after her appointment in March last year.

Petitioners also seek VC removal over ‘illegal’ recruitment

A few days ago, the VC had sent a letter to the governor registering a complaint against certain university employees for running a campaign against her.

“Ever since I joined, employees at the varsity have been harassing me and have targeted me on the basis of the provincial discrimination,” she had written in the letter.

Babar Khan Yousafzai, lawyer for petitioners advocate Faisal Ahmad and others, contended that Section 11 of the KP Universities Act, 2012, provided for the powers and functions of the VCs of public sector universities.

He argued that in a sheer violation of that provision of the Universities Act, the VC had made those 15 appointments mostly of teaching staff in BPS-21.

The lawyer pointed out that most of those appointments were made from Sindh province despite the availability of competent people the required qualifications in the district.

He argued that those appointments were made in violation of sections 3 and 9 of the Women University Swabi Teachers Appointment and Scales of Pay Statutes, 2018, and sections 4, 5, 6, 7 and 15 of the WUS Administrative Officer Appointment and Scale of Pay Statutes, 2018. Mr Babar contended that some of the appointed respondents lacked the required qualification and experience in the relevant fields.

He claimed that respondent Syed Jazib Shamim, who was appointed the public relations officer of the university in BPS-17, had done his master’s degree in 2017, whereas the required criteria of the post was the first class master’s degree in social sciences with eight years of experience in the relevant field.

The counsel alleged that besides administrative irregularities and misuse of authority, the VC also misused her powers on financial side. He claimed that a house was rented in Islamabad on pretext of being used as the guesthouse but she had been using it for personal stay.

The lawyer requested the court to order the removal of the VC over ‘gross misuse of powers and illegal appointments’.

He also sought the court’s orders to declare all appointments made to the university since Mar 9, 2020, when the VC was appointed, illegal and unconstitutional.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2021