PESHAWAR, Nov 15 Various major decisions in the Islamia College University (ICU) are on hold as the administration has failed to convene even a single meeting of the university senate in over a year, sources said.

The Islamia College University Peshawar Act, under which the university was established in July 2008, has made it compulsory to convene at least two senate meetings in a year but the university administration has failed to hold any meeting so far. After the establishment of the university, it should have convened at least three senate meetings, the sources said.

University senate is the single forum to pass annual budget and approve policies and policies implemented without the senate's approval are illegal.

Almost 50 per cent promotions of the lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors and professors have been stopped. The problems faced by contractual and ad hoc lecturers, high fees being charged from students, increase in salaries and other incentives of the employees were the major issues to be resolved in the senate meetings.

Time and again the issue of convening the senate meeting was raised with Vice-Chancellor (VC) Ajmal Khan who each time promised to convene the meeting but to no avail, the sources claimed. “The VC is holding the decision-making power which is harmful for the newly established university. Once the VC takes a decision, he withdraws it on the second day when deans and chairmen of respective departments build up pressure on him.”

For instance, the VC stopped interviews for admissions in masters in Urdu and theology on Nov 14 but when chairmen of the respective departments rushed to the VC office, he agreed and allowed admissions, alleging “the VC is dealing the affairs of the university in consultation with his blue-eyed employees, who often misuse the VC's office”.

Similarly, the university syndicate, another statutory body, should have held at least five meetings to discuss different issues but so far, the syndicate has held only one meeting on Nov 14, which was made possible after repeated request of teachers.

Likewise, academic counsel - which oversees academic related affairs, change in courses and departments and makes admission policies - has yet not formed at the university.

Giving precedence of the recently established Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, which has already conducted meetings of the senate and syndicate, the sources alleged that the administration of the ICU was inefficient and lacked interest in the university affairs.

When asked the reasons for not convening the senate meetings, VC Ajmal Khan said that he had requested to the chancellor, NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani, to convene the senate meeting. “We are moving slowly and gradually because the university is new and needs more care,” he said.