SAHIWAL: The vacant posts at the helm of the University of Sahiwal (UoS) have created a plethora of problems for the students, faculty and the institute itself.

Around 1,200 graduates from eight various disciplines of four-year BS and master’s programmes have not been awarded degrees due to important vacant posts, including those of the vice chancellor, registrar, treasurer and controller. Of them, the permanent posts of controller, registrar and treasurer are lying vacant for the last five years since the day university was established.

The university has more than 6,000 male/female students enrolled in its eight disciplines. Those who have graduated complain that they have got their transcripts but they have not been issued degrees by the university.

Besides the issues of students, according to reports, after July 1, around 200 employees of the university won’t be able to get their salaries due to the dysfunctional syndicate.

The absence of a permanent VC since October 2020 is a major factor behind the issues the university is facing. The last permanent Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nasir, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, resigned from his post in September 2020 and Higher Education Department awarded additional charge to Prof Dr Zakria Zakir, the VC of University of Okara, for six months, which ended on June 22, 2021.

1,200 graduates await degrees; 200 employees won’t get pay after July 1

Presently, Deputy Controller Mubashir Saeed is working as additional controller while Deputy Registrar Asghar Shah is also holding the charge of the additional registrar and additional treasurer.

The syndicate – the supreme legislative body – is not functional for the last seven months. The previous three-year term of the syndicate expired in the last quarter of 2020 and after that few new syndicate members were proposed but the matter landed in controversy.

Some insiders have told Dawn no new names have yet been finalised for the syndicate because of ‘favouritism,’ leaving it dysfunctional for the last seven months. Recently, Malik Arshad, a PML-N MPA from Sahiwal, objected to the proposed syndicate members in the Punjab Assembly and Minster for Higher Education Raja Yassir Humayun Sarfraz rejected the allegations of ‘favouritism’.

The dysfunctional ‘syndicate’ because of lack of members would hurdle the passage of the financial budget for the financial year 2021-22.

The issue of employees’ salaries appeared due to absence of the syndicate. The meeting of the finance & planning committee (FPC) that finalises the budget and other financial matters of the university cannot be called without the approval of the syndicate.

“No FPC meeting, hence no budget and salary approvals,” Asghar Shah says.

The vacant key positions have developed other day-to-day administrative problems for 82 and 20 permanent teaching and administrative staff, as well.

“This includes the concentration of most of the academic, administrative and financial powers into a few hands who get involved in personal vendetta against others,” a source close to the situation told Dawn.

A faculty member is having the charge of three departments, namely Computer Science, Information Technology and Software Engineering. He is also running the university official website being the director IT besides having the additional charge of the project director’s post for the last one year. Under this position, he has to accomplish development projects having value of Rs1.36 bn under a Higher Education Commission grant.

The source alleges that development work only worth about Rs 45 m has been done at the main campus of the university. Dr Shafiq Hussain, the project director, confirms the grant was sanctioned in August 2020. It has 36 month to spent, he further added.

Mr Saeed, the deputy controller, says the university has purchased special paper for issuing degrees from the Pakistan Printing Press but the question is who will sign the degrees because both the VC and controller posts are lying vacant.Punjab Minister for Agriculture Nauman Langrial, commenting on the situation, stresses the appointment at the posts of the VC, controller and treasurer. He claims that he has briefed Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar and Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on the issue and they have assured him that the vacant posts will be filled soon.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2021