MULTAN: The Academic Council of Bahauddin Zakariya University on Monday approved the controversial curricula for different programmes offered by the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS).

According to sources, the council even did not discuss the observations of 30 heads of departments, who were its members, regarding the minutes of the previous council meeting.

They said the varsity administration did not even include these observations in the meeting’s agenda.

In a letter to the BZU registrar, the council members stated that the house did not approve the recommendations of the board of studies concerned with regard to the curricula for different programmes being offered by ISS and Directorate of Distant Education.

It said the house constituted a committee comprising Faculty of Sciences Dean Prof Dr Saeed Ahmad Malik, Faculty of Arts Dean Prof Dr Ayaz Muhammad Rana, Faculty of Engineering and Technology Dean Dr Shabbar Atiq, Al-Fallah Institute of Banking and Finance Director Dr Muhammad Shaukat and Department of Economics Chairman Prof Dr Imran Sharif Chaudhry for more deliberations and placing its findings before the concerned board of faculty.

“A detailed report by the concerned board of faculty will be submitted in the next meeting of the academic council for consideration/approval” the letter concluded.

The sources said as the varsity administration wanted to approve the programmes without any discussion, the minutes of the council meeting held on April 4, 2014 were tampered with and the members who had made observations were influenced to keep them away from such a discussion.

They said even the members who had signed the letter were asked to disown their signatures but only two out of 30 did so.

Dr Umer Farooq Zain of the Department of International Relations and Dr Akbar Anjam of the Department of Horticulture disowned their signatures while 14 others withdrew their observations, allegedly succumbing to the varsity administration pressure, they added.

One of the council members, Dr Shaukat Malik, told Dawn his signature on the withdrawal letter were bogus.

Another council member, Dr Shabbar Atiq, who did not sign the withdrawal letter said that no meeting of the committee was held as the issue was once again presented before the council which itself had approved the programmes.

On May 23, Vice-Chancellor Dr Khwaja Alqama, despite not being a member of the committee looking into the controversial budget of the distant education programme, reportedly presided over the committee meeting at his residence and the committee finally recommended to the Syndicate to move the budget to the BZU Senate for approval when the fiscal year was almost over.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2014