SUKKUR: Despite winning a legal battle with the provincial government, Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalil Ahmed Ibupoto of the Shah Abdul Latif University (Salu) has so far failed to re-establish his writ since he resumed his office a couple of weeks back.

The VC was sent on ‘forced leave’ by the chief minister, being the chancellor, amid an uproar within the faculty and employees over a video showing the VC indulging in highly indecent and immoral acts. The video had gone viral on the social media late last year making the VC to strongly react to the “attempt to defame me”. He maintained that the “fake video was doctored with technological tools”.

He, on Sept 9 last year, lodged a complaint in this regard with FIA’s cybercrime wing, which is investigating the matter.

In his complaint, the VC has named Salu’s network operator, an administrative officer, the senior data processing officer and some others accusing them of blackmailing him.

Registrar and agitating faculty, employees disregard all his notifications

The scandal drew a divided response from Salu faculty and administrative staff and other employees as one group stood up against him and the other fully supported him.

Over the last few months, VC’s opponents had been running a crippling protest movement badly affecting academic activities and administrative affairs. They kept insisting removal of the VC. In order to restore normality till veracity of the video was established, the CM sent VC Prof Ibepoto on forced leave. The VC, however, challenged the action against him in the Sindh High Court which, a couple of weeks back, allowed him to resume his office.

A few days before summer vacations last week, the agitating group disrupted exams by forcing most students out of the Khairpur campus and locking the main entrance from inside. The group of teachers and workers did not allow anyone to reopen the gate. Salu’s security staff also sided with them.

The situation turned from bad to worse when Salu Registrar Nazir Ahmed Mangnejo refused to abide by any notification issued by Prof Ibepoto upon the latter’s return to his office. Mr Mangnejo disregarded the notifications concerning schedule of exam papers, summer vacation and new postings and transfers. One of the VC’s latest notifications was about appointment of Prof Farman Ali Mangi as the registrar. Mr Mangnego refused to hand over the charge to Prof Mangi maintaining that he and his group (calling itself the ‘joint action committee’) would obey only the orders of the chancellor (chief minister) so far as the VC’s current status was concerned. No such notification had been issued by the CM or the department of universities and boards, he pointed out.

Mr Mangi on Wednesday (June 12) had gone to the registrar’s office to show high court’s order allowing VC Ibepoto to resume his office and also the VC’s June 3 notification appointing him as registrar but Mr Mangnejo argued that he was supposed to follow university’s rules and regulations as well.

After a heated argument, Prof Mangi returned to his office in the physics department from where he issued a few notifications as registrar.

Since summer vacations have already started, there have been no academic activities under way on the campus barring research works and studies by MPhil and PhD students. However, the administrative staff and other employees are in a fix as contradictory notifications about every other matter are issued by the two rival registrars, Prof Mangi and Mr Mangnejo.

Both the registrars on Thursday visited the administrative block and different departments to ask workers to follow their respective notifications.

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2024