The faculty members of the University of Malakand have appealed the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Chancellor of the varsities Shah Farman for protection against the victimization and discriminative behavior of the UoM Vice Chancellor.
The letter they have written to the Governor reads; “We are writing this to you in extremely desperate conditions at the University of Malakand. The Vice Chancellor’s hostile, retaliatory and offensive behavior, after an inquiry was ordered by your revered office [Governor House] against him over a complaint of 80 employees, has made the environment in the university intensely suffocating”.
Giving some example, the letter further reads that the Vice Chancellor is coercing employees to deny their signatures over complaints against him, or he will make an example of all the 80 signatories. Dr. Kamal Shah, an associate professor was denied NOC for his Post Doc Research. He complained to Grievances Redressal Committee but the committee could not resolve the issue probably due to the pressure of VC.
They have written that Dr. Muhammad Usman, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Commerce and Management Sciences was served a show-cause letter while his wife was denied admission in PhD program in Zoology Department clearly violating the merit criteria.
The same faced by Dr. Sarni ur Rahman, who an assistant professor in Computer Science Department. Dr Rahman was served a show-cause notice. It has been three weeks now that on behalf of the Vice Chancellor some employees are going from office to office and home to home with a letter forcing the complainants to withdraw complaints against the VC.
Moreover, the VC has started a bizarre signature campaign for getting an extension for another term. The academic activities at the university have suffered badly and an atmosphere of fear, hate, and division has been created at the university.
Issuance of the NOCs, approval of leave applications and other legal rights of the faculty have been denied or delayed. Even dozens of employees have quit going to the university mosque for prayers in order to avoid bullying nature and any possible confrontation of the VC.
The Vice Chancellor is constantly telling employees that this inquiry will be no different than the previous ones, but this time he will make an example of all the “culprits” who signed a complaint against him. “We humbly request your esteemed office to provide us with protection against the Vice Chancellor of the university. The given circumstances can lead to consequences of a very serious nature. While we are waiting for the committee to probe, the VC is let free to torture us”.
