A second Governor’s Inspection Team (GIT) constituted to investigate viral death threats given by the University of Malakand Vice-Chancellor to faculty members, visited the campus on Monday.
The GIT members met those 32 faculty members who earlier launched a peaceful protest against Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Gul Zaman for his wishful amendments in the University Model Act, making Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s second-ranked high learning seat an administrative wreck, considering the varsity is now virtually run by no laws.
Embattled Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Gul Zaman is already faced with corruption allegations in development projects, charges of illegal hiring and promotion of his favoured faculty members as another high-powered GIT has already completed inquiry against the VC having witnessed several visits of teachers affiliated with the Malakand University Teachers Association (MUTA) and the Vice-Chancellor to the provincial capital Peshawar.
The report of the first GIT investigating corruption and other serious allegations will come well before the end of July 2021, said insiders who seemed quite satisfied with the conduct of the second GIT investigating VC’s viral death threats to 32 protesting faculty members who appeared before the visiting GIT (on Monday).
“The good thing is that the GIT members lend an ear to us,” said a varsity source privy to the entire situation, adding that the first 10 faculty members met the GIT in individual capacity then groups of five met it to express their grievances.
Finally, the GIT called Vice-Chancellor Dr. Gul Zaman who appeared before the inquiry body along with Registrar as two faculty members Dr. Adnan and Dr. Sami ur Rehman affiliated with the MUTA also set before the GIT.
Defending himself in the viral death threat case, Prof Dr Gul Zaman handed over a video to the GIT arguing that he is innocent. However, MUTA activists said the video is a doctored one. “We have already told the GIT that the video given to them by the VC is doctored as the film showing the Vice-Chancellor threatening us with shooting in the head is watched by all and sundry having made rounds on the social media,” Dr. Sami ur Rehman, who is MUTA focal person, said, adding they demand the GIT to verify the authenticity of the video (provided by VC Gul Zaman) through forensic experts.
On the other hand, those ten faculty members meeting the GIT in individual capacity seemed satisfied with the conduct of the GIT, stating they poured their hearts out. “I told them the VC has long been harassing us in one way or the other with the common being his rant ‘I hire you so you need to support me (otherwise things could get worse for you),’” commented a faculty member while requesting anonymity.
Another staff member said the incumbent VC has made the varsity environment suffocating, stating: “We have long been unable to meet those friends at the campus who are not in the good books of VC as the latter told us never dare to meet my opponents. So, I told the GIT how it could be possible not to see our friends at the varsity.”
Recently, Malakand University faculty members formed the ‘Discussion and Dialogue Forum’ approved by VC Gul Zaman in writing. But most teachers, said another source, could not attend the important forum meant to discuss books and other issues, since the Vice-Chancellor termed the forum anti-VC.
“As researchers and avid book readers it has always been a joy to attend the Discussion and Dialogue Forum but we have long been feeling the heat while attending the book review sessions at the forum since the VC not only discouraged such intellectual activity but also terms it anti-Vice-Chancellor,” bemoaned the same source stating he told the same to the inquiry body.
None, including Public Relations Officer and Registrar, answered phone calls by this scribe to take their version.
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