The process for the appointment of vice-chancellor (VC) of the Agriculture University has started but even before the shortlisting of candidates the Joint Action Council of the university employees has warned of protests if their former vice-chancellor Prof Khan Bahadur Marwat was shortlisted.
Prof Khan Bahadur Marwat served as the vice-chancellor from May 2010 to June 2013. He handed over the charge to a senior faculty member Dr Afzal Khan, who was made the acting vice-chancellor after he was appointed the vice-chancellor of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University in Upper Dir.
According to the Agriculture University registrar’s office, 17-20 candidates have applied for the position of the vice-chancellor. The search committee after the scrutiny of the applications would shortlist the names of candidates so that they could be interviewed.
The applicants include the university’s two formers vice-chancellors Prof Dr Said Khan Khalil and Prof Dr Khan Bahadur Marwat, Prof Dr Zahoor Swati, Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem, Hamidullah Shah, Zahoor Hussain, Ahmad Rehman Saljuti, Muhammad Akmal, Mansoor Khattak, acting vice-chancellor Prof Mohammad Afzal and Gomal University vice-chancellor Prof Mansoor Akbar Kundi.
No other candidate has aroused so much controversy and opposition as Prof Khan Bahadur Marwat.Talking to The News, office-bearers of various organisations in the varsity, including the All Universities Federation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the clerical staff, technical staff and teachers’ association levelled serious allegations of misuse of power and illegal appointments against him.
Rafiuddin, general secretary of the clerical staff association, alleged that Prof Khan Bahadur made up to 400 appointments in the institution without following proper legal procedures. “As vice-chancellor, he made up to 80 percent appointments in the university from his hometown of Kot Kashmir in Lakki Marwat district,” he claimed.
He alleged that the vice-chancellor constructed two washrooms at the girls’ canteen in the university at an estimated cost of Rs1 to 1.2 million. “A small house could easily be built in this amount but he just built two washrooms though the facility was already available at the canteen,” he added.
General Secretary Technical Staff Association, Iftikhar Khan claimed that Prof Khan Bahadur had ordered construction of a mosque despite the fact that there were already several mosques in the university.
“A tender for the construction of mosque costing Rs35 million was advertised without giving consideration to the fact that the university lacked funds,” he said.He said new appointments were made on permanent basis while the services of the existing senior and other contract staff were not regularised.
He said the new employees were provided hostels at the stores of the Malkandher Farm of the university. “The utility bills including electricity and gas bills had been paid out of the university funds causing million of rupees loss to the institution,” he informed.
“The varsity has no funds to pay the salaries of the employees and has borrowed Rs25 million for July and Rs35 million for August to pay the salaries of the employees,” revealed Salahuddin, president All Universities Class-III & IV Federation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Iftikhar Khan said the ANP-led government had constituted an assembly inquiry committee headed by lawmaker Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha and including other MPAs Atifur Rehman, Shagufta Malik and Alamgir Khalil to probe charges against Prof Khan Bahadur but nothing came out of it.
It was learnt that some of these lawmakers were obliged by the vice-chancellor by giving jobs to candidates recommended by them. He alleged that tenders worth Rs180 million were issued even though the university had no funds to execute these projects.
Source: The News
