Karachi colleges admissions | KU administrative crisis

Admissions to Class XI begin on Tuesday
Karachi, July 27: The process of admissions to colleges in Class XI in the city's 123 public sector colleges for the academic year 2009-10 under the Centralised Admission Policy (CAP) 2009 will begin on July 28.

This was announced by the Director-General of Colleges, Sindh, Prof Dr Rafiq Ahmed here on Friday.

He said that the admission forms would be available at the Al- Habib Bank branches in the metropolis.

Dr Rafiq, who heads the 18-member CAP committee formed by the provincial education department, said that the admission forms would be issued until August 8 and applicants were required to submit the duly filled up forms at the issuing bank branch.

He said that the admission policy this year was unchanged. He recalled that about 92,000 applicants were given admission to the government colleges, including five newly opened colleges, of the city last year.

This year, he added, some 98,000 applicants would be accommodated in the colleges.

Dr Rafiq said the classes were expected to commence by the second week of September.

He said the price of the admission form along with the prospectus had been reduced to Rs50 from Rs100.—APP

Sources in the education department said that admissions would be offered to fresh matriculates in six different faculties at the city's government colleges, our staff reporter adds.

The six faculties included pre-engineering, pre-medical, computer science, commerce, humanities and home economics, they said, adding that most of the admissions, numbering around 22,630, would be given in the pre-engineering faculty, followed by the commerce faculty for which there would be about 22,500 seats. There remaining seats expected to be available are: humanities (over 20,500), pre-medical (16,345), computer science (1,255) and home economics (600).

According to the sources, the students who have passed their Secondary School Certificate/Technical Board exams, GCE (O' Level) or equivalent annual examinations in 2009 could apply for admissions to Class XI in the city's government colleges. Moreover, all those students who have passed their above-mentioned examinations last year, or indeed in any year up to five years ago, are also eligible for admissions but with the condition that five marks for each year between 2009 and the year they obtained their results will be deducted from their total marks to determine their merit.

The students who will be passing their SSC or equivalent supplementary examinations-2009 will not be eligible for admission in the 2009-10 academic session. Besides, all those students who have already appeared in the HSC (part-I or II) examinations from the Board of Intermediate Education Karachi or from any other educational boards of the country will not be re-admitted to Class XI.

Regarding the students who have given their O' Level examinations, the sources said that it would be imperative for the students passing GCE O' Level examinations to have passed their exams for the subjects of English, Urdu, Islamiat, Pakistan Studies and four optional subjects. Besides, the students belonging to this category would also be required to get an equivalence certificate from the Inter-Boards Committee of Chairmen in Islamabad. Dawn

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Curious case of a dean holding seven KU posts
Karachi: The faculty of arts in Karachi University seems to be facing an acute academic and administrative crisis these days, as the faculty's dean is currently holding seven posts, including the directorship of two institutes and the chairmanship of three departments, on the grounds that "eligible candidates" are not available, it has been learnt.

According to sources, the KU dean faculty of arts, Dr Shamsuddin, is currently working as the chairman of the philosophy, general history and Islamic history departments.

He is also holding the posts of director of the Institute of Clinical Psychology and the Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC), besides being the dean of faculty of education and special adviser to the vice chancellor.

Although KU officials state the unavailability of associate professors and professors as the primary reason for such an administrative arrangement, the sources say that the excuse is not entirely based on facts.

The university code states: "Provided that where there is no professor or associate professor in a department, it shall be looked after by the dean of the faculty with the assistance of the most senior teacher of the department."

Removals and resignations

At AERC, Prof (Dr) Shahida Wizarat and Prof (Dr) Nuzhat Ahmed, being the only two professors at the centre, remained its director, by turns, for many years till 2005 when the latter went abroad and the former assumed the charge of the centre.

In 2007, Prof (Dr) Wizarat was removed from the post when she allegedly refused to comply with the vice chancellor's orders.

Dr Shamsuddin took over the AERC as there was no professor or an associate professor available at the centre at that time.

Dr Nuzhat Ahmed has now returned and joined the centre a few months ago. But Dr Shamsuddin still continues to lead the centre.

At the Islamic history department, Prof (Dr) Nigar Sajjad Zaheer, the only full professor at the department, reportedly developed some differences with her colleagues a year ago.

A fact-finding committee was set up to probe into the alleged charges of "attitude problem and misbehaviour" that had been levelled against her.

But, before the report could be presented at any statutory forum, she was removed from her post and the dean of the faculty was given the charge of the department, as there was neither an associate professor nor a professor available at the department.

Assistant professor Shakeel Siddiqui was made the "in-charge" without any notification.

In February this year, Prof (Dr) Nigar wrote a letter to the vice chancellor, who also heads the Board of Advanced Studies and Research, about Dr Shamsuddin. She wrote in her letter that Dr Shamsuddin had supervised his own sister-in-law in doing her PhD thesis, which she said was unethical. His sister-in-law, Uzma Perveen, was a lecturer at the Islamic history department.

At the general history department, Prof (Dr) Nargis Rasheed left the chairpersonship after developing differences with other teachers last year. She left the post, stating that she was unable to fulfil her duties due to health reasons.

The other professor and associate professor, Prof (Dr) Javed Hussain and Prof (Dr) Shama Habib, respectively, who were technically eligible to be made chairperson, declined to take the responsibility.

The situation at the philosophy department is, however, different. The department has no professor or associate professor since 2004 and the dean is looking after the affairs of the department. An associate professor, who applied for the post in 2004, was appointed in the department in July this year.

Prof (Dr) Seema Munaf, who headed the Institute of Clinical Psychology, reportedly left her post under pressure over a year ago.

In the absence of any associate professor or a professor at the centre, the dean assumed the responsibility of the director of the department.

It is important to mention here that all these professors who left their administrative posts due to some conflicts still serve at their respective departments as teachers with the exception of Dr Wizarat, who is now retired.

The aggrieved teachers have expressed grave doubts about the dean's impartiality and his role in their conflicts.

Dr Shamsuddin also serves as the dean of the faculty of education, as there is no full professor at the education department to work as dean.

It is worth mentioning that the faculty of education is basically meant for attending to matters relating to colleges affiliated with Karachi University. The past practice was to appoint a full professor from either of the departments of education and special education, which are under the faculty of arts, as dean of the faculty of education.

Commenting on Dr Shamsuddin's case, Dr Aqeel Ahmed of the Karachi University Teachers' Society (Kuts) said that the society had always condemned the appointment of teachers on more than one post.

"I think the disputes among teachers need to be resolved instead of giving charge of many posts to one person. There is one or two departments where there is a genuine problem of not having eligible persons, but in other departments there are conflicts which need attention," he said.

This is the second tenure of Dr Shamsuddin as dean who is retiring in November this year.

According to the sources, his first tenure ended on Dec 1, 2007, but he continued as dean without the governor's orders till his extension orders were issued on January 1, 2008.

Defending his position, Dr Shamsuddin said: "I have been assigned all these posts as there was no associate professor or professor available in the relevant departments. In case of AERC, I have already sent a letter to the VC in this regard that Dr Nuzhat be given the charge of the centre."

KU Vice Chancellor Prof (Dr) Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui admitted that the faculty of arts faced a major deterioration of standards. He said that the situation was the result of a lack of planning in the past.

"There was a time when there used to be 11 PhDs in the general history department that had produced many renowned historians. The sorry state of affairs has come about because our predecessors did not make any plans for the faculty's development and it has been only two years since we took up the task. There is also a lack of motivation on the part of teachers to pursue higher studies and acquire foreign fellowships which could help them hone their skills."

About the disputes among teachers, he said: "Every teacher cannot do an administrative job and, unfortunately, we don't have the good manners to say no when we are unfit for a job. Being the head of a department, you have to take everybody on board, which everybody cannot do. The administration has to intervene if a department is paralysed by conflicts." Dawn

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Rs1849m KU budget approved
Karachi: The Syndicate of the University of Karachi (KU) which met last Saturday has approved the budget of 1849.842 million rupees for the fiscal year 2009-10. The budget has a shortfall of 492.5 million rupees that the university has to meet other than the grant it receives from the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The KU had asked for 1350.34 million from the HEC in a parallel development but the former approved approximately 900 million rupees for the current budget resulting in the current deficit budget. The KU will face an additional burden of 924 million owing to the increased pay and allowances of the employees announced by the government. Ironically it seems that the government is not willing to inject the increased amount into the KU coffers to enable it to comply with the announced increase.

A reliable source informed that the Syndicate has formed a committee that has Dr Shakeel Farooqui, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics, as the Convener and Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan, A.G. Miana, a representative from HEC in KU Syndicate; KU Director Finance S.M. Khalid and MNA Khushbakht Shujaat as the members to ensure that improvements incorporated in the budget are practiced in Toto.

Provincial Minister for Jails Muzaffar Ali Shajrah, Senator Abdul Haseeb Khan and MNA Khushbakht Shujaat assured the KU Syndicate that they would use their influence to get more financial support for the KU.

The KU Syndicate also confirmed the action taken against the three professors for misconduct and plagiarising the research literature and who were subsequently suspended in the last meeting of the KU Syndicate. Justices (Retired) Haziq-ul-Khairi and Saleem Akhtar are currently making enquiries and conducting hearings for the final decision.

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Mass Communication moves from one crisis to another
Karachi: While Pakistan is facing a media boom with Karachi as its centre, the Department of Mass Communication of Karachi University that should have undertaken the task of producing graduates for this industry continues to waddle in uncertainty.

This sad situation is caused by both the teachers of the department and nonchalant behaviour of the KU administration, including the Vice Chancellor.

The department which was once sandwiched between other departments of the Arts Faculty has now shifted to a new spacious building, thanks to the philanthropy of Nadira Feroz Ahmed, the widow of Dr Feroz Ahmed, who bequeathed Rs15 million to upgrade the department to an institute.

Unfortunately the generous donation and the lofty vision of Ms Ahmed did not seem to improve the overall fortunes of the department – the fathers of the department including Dr Muhammad Shamsuddin who is also the Dean of the Arts Faculty and the current chairman Prof Mahmood Ghaznavi, are not very famous for their academic prowess.

On the contrary the former is known for his behind the scene manoeuvrings that have been corroding the foundation of the university, while the latter who refuses to exit despite being tainted by a proven case of plagiarism.

When Dr Shamsuddin and Professor Ghaznavi were contacted to give their version of events, they refused to do so. But the controversy of the department refuses to go away. Dr Aqeela Islam, who is currently associated with the Jinnah University for Women (JUW) as a registrar was one of the many who were selected to be the member of Board of Governors of the proposed Dr Feroz Ahmed Institute of Mass Communication. "We have not received any official notification and it seems that even those have been shelved by the concerned authorities for the time being. The teachers are running the institute as a department", she explained.

Giving further details of her disillusionment with the MCD she added that "It was agreed that a Director would be hired from the media with adequate field knowledge. That was sabotaged by the faculty members fearing that competent people will indirectly expose their mediocrity. The team left by Dr Feroz Ahmed in 1997, has broken up after the death of Dr Feroz due to unnecessary delays."

Students at the department are quite worried about the pathetic condition of the department. Several students have clearly stated that excepting a few they were not satisfied with the standard or disposition of their teachers. A student who is in the final year wrote a letter stating that the courses taught at the department are archaic, outdated and unrelated to the modern media world.

Speaking about the dilapidated facilities at the department, a recent graduate informed, "The department has only one outdated camera for the students of electronic media. The camera is so outdated that its cassettes are no longer available in the market."

Other courses like film making, script writing, investigative reporting, and business journalism etc, have not been added to the syllabus despite the introduction of a four year degree programme, he said adding that "this year a camera was provided by a working journalist for a few days in order to conduct the classes."

Yet another student puts in "this year instead of making new sections, 40 more students were admitted to the class of BS third year while the original class was forced to study two courses again for the sake of new comers." The News

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