FAISALABAD, Dec 23 The University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) syndicate has declared the appointment of 63 employees of different grades illegal on the plea that these appointments were made during election days (2008) when hiring was banned across Punjab.

Interestingly, it was none other than the syndicate which gave a nod to these appointments. The fresh move lends credence to the doubt that change of (few) faces in the syndicate portends change of faces in the overall university system.

Sources told Dawn on Wednesday that these employees had been serving the university for the last one to two years and became part of the academia on the recommendations of the selection boards.

Information gleaned by Dawn revealed that 14 selection boards met on Dec 3, 4, 5, 14, 15, 17, 26, 27 of 2007 and Jan 15, 16, 17, 24, 25 and 26 of 2008 and recommended appointment of 63 employees of different grades -- tenure-track professors, associate and assistant professors, lecturers, deputy treasurer and deputy registrars. The employees were recruited after fulfilling the formalities like advertisement in the national press for open competition and scrutiny by the committees constituted by the vice-chancellor to screen out the ineligible candidates.

All the candidates appeared before the selection boards, comprising the VC (chairman), chairman or a member of Public Service Commission, dean of the faculty concerned or director of the division of education and extension, or director of the institutes, the chairman of the teaching department concerned and one member of the syndicate besides two other persons of eminence to be appointed by the syndicate.

The boards recommended the candidates who obtained highest marks for the advertised slots. The university after fulfilling all formalities like approval of the syndicate okayed appointments of the successful candidates on Feb 11, 2008.

A syndicate member told Dawn on the request of anonymity that the university had manoeuvered the directive declaring the appointments illegal, though the appointment process was in progress months before the election schedule.

He said VC Dr Iqrar Ahmad was also appointed during election days, but the syndicate kept mum over the issue. It was discriminatory that all other appointments had been declared unlawful.

Although all these employees were receiving perks and privileges from the university after approval of the syndicate, the minutes of the meeting that took place on Feb 11, 2008, were yet to be approved and it's something helping the administration declare the appointments illegal. The business rules of the syndicate bind the members to approve the minutes of last meeting before further proceedings.

The employees are Dr Ghulam Muhammad, professor of clinical medicine and surgery, Dr Allah Bakhsh, professor of irrigation and drainage department, associate professors Dr Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Dr Waqar Ahmad, Dr Saeed Ahmad, Dr Muhammad Asif Ali and Dr Nasir Amin.

The assistant professors are Dr Waqas Waqil, Dr Muhammad Ahsan, Dr Bushra Saadia, Dr Sultan Habibullah, Dr Hafiz Naeem Asghar, Dr Tariq Aziz, Abdul Rehman and Dr Lal Hussain Akhtar.

The lecturers are Muhammad Yamin, Abdus Samie, Waqas Alam Chattha, Shabbir Hussain, Bilal Aslam, Dr Muhammad Sharif, Hafiza Masooma Naseer Cheema, Muhammad Aslam, Nazar Hussain, Ayesha Masood, Shafia Tehseen Gul, Dr Huma Jamil, Ihsan Qadir, Faizul Hassan, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Dildar Gogi, Bilal Saeed, Muhammad Sagheer, Hammad Hassan, Hafeezur Rehman, Ghulam Mustafa Sahi, Nazila Azhar, Irfan Ashraf, Shoaibur Rehman, Karim Yar Abbasi, Ayesha Sameen, Asim Shabbir, Shakila Perveen, Dr Muhammad Araf, Sajid Aqeel Ahmad, Saifullah, Shamsa Kanwal, Aamer Maqsood, Muhammad Sabir, Saifur Rehman Kashif, Zulfiqar Ahmad and Fatima Husain.

The syndicate also declared appointments of deputy registrars Abdul Hafeez, Aftab Ahmad Sheikh, Dr Abdul Hafeez, Ali Ahmad, Inam Qadir and Tariq Mehmood Gill illegal. Ali Ahmad had retired from the university a couple of months ago. Besides, the appointment of deputy treasurer Muhammad Ashraf Mumtaz has also been declared unlawful.

Sources said the number of illegal appointments could increase in the coming days as the administration would further take up the cases.

Another syndicate member said the (syndicate) meeting declared the appointments illegal, but the VC was reluctant to fix responsibility on any one or constitute any committee to recover the public money from these “illegal appointees”. He said one of the syndicate members raised the issue of responsibility which the VC sidelined.

He said the situation would land Registrar Muhammad Husain, who also holds the syndicate secretary office and approved the appointments, in a difficulty.

Public Relations and Publications Department Principal Officer Dr Jalal Arif said the Lahore High Court had asked the university administration to give legal cover to all such appointments made during election days. He said the syndicate had not declared all appointments illegal rather the university would soon give legal cover to all appointments and nobody would be shown the door.

He said the appointment of Dr Iqrar as vice-chancellor was made on Feb 20 and the ban was enforced till Feb 18.