MULTAN, Jan 21: The Academic Council of the Bahauddin Zakariya University has not met for the last three years in violation of the rules. University sources said the last meeting of the council was held in the year 2000. The BZU Act 1975 says: "The Academic Council shall ordinarily meet during the months of February, May and November each year or whenever the occasion so demands".

They said that during the period, Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ghulam Mustafa Chaudhry had arbitrarily taken some 'drastic steps' by exercising his emergency powers under Section 16(3) of the BZU Act and bypassing the academic council. The chancellor/governor had ordered that the indiscriminate use of executive powers should be avoided.

The university management has planned to hold elections for 19 members of the council on March 20 for the next term of three years. The outgoing elected members could attend only one meeting during their three-year term.

Being academic body of the university under Section 28 of the BZU Act, the council has been entrusted upon with the task to lay down standards of instruction, research, publication and examinations and to regulate and promote the academic life of the university and its constituent and affiliated colleges.

Under Section 27 of the Act, the vice-chancellor shall be chairman of the council. The members shall include pro-vice-chancellor, deans, directors of the institutes, principals of the constituent colleges, university professors including professors emeritus, chairmen of the teaching departments, registrar, librarian and the controller examinations.

Besides, two associate professors (other than the chairmen of the teaching departments), two assistant professors and three lecturers have to be elected from their respective tiers to become members of the council for three years.

Similarly, six principals and as many teachers of the affiliated colleges have also to be elected from among all the principals and teachers of such colleges, respectively, to become members of the council.

Three eminent people in the fields of arts and science, nominated by the chancellor/governor, are also part of the council. Sources said that the vice-chancellor did not get the approval of the board of faculties and the academic council while starting new departments and programmes of studies, and replacing the annual examination system with the semester system.

"The approval of the two bodies is essential to ensure quality education," they said. When contacted, BZU registrar and public relation officer Khursheed Ahmad Khan declined to comment on the situation.