ISLAMABAD: Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed is campaigning against me with the help several university officials, Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Asharf claimed while responding to a 75-page report on the affairs of QAU. “The report is a faulty document with numerous inaccuracies. It is no more than a campaign against me. The HEC chairman, with the help of a ‘group of seven’ has been carrying out a vilification campaign against me,” he said. A few months ago, QAU Chancellor and President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain had directed HEC to examine complaints of alleged irregularities in the university. In compliance, the commission constituted a three-member committee to investigate the matter. Dr MA Kamal, the Dean of Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila, was appointed the committee’s convener. The other two members were: Dr M Mazhar Saeeed, an HEC director and Muhammad Shahid, the Joint Chief Economist of Planning Commission, Islamabad. The committee submitted its findings with the Chancellor’s Office. The Chancellor’s Secretariat forwarded the report to the vice chancellor for his response. The QAU VC submitted a 13-page response. Both the HEC committee report and the VC’s response are available with Daily Times. In his response to the report, VC Dr Ashraf rejected all observations made by the committee. “The report is very much open to questioning. I see the report as the work of a kangaroo court, written under the supervision of the HEC chairman (Dr Mukhtar), whose hostility towards me is well-known,” he said. “The documents will make a reference to the ‘Group of Seven’. This group consists of individuals who have strongly opposed every initiative I have taken at the university. The group enjoys the support of HEC chairman who has acted as part of the group. Much of the report appears to have been written with direct input from that group,” Dr Ashraf claims in his reply. When contacted, HEC Chairman Dr Ahmed said that the findings had been given by the inquiry committee. “The committee consisted of very senior officials. The committee concluded its finding impartially without any influence. I have not even studied the whole report because I don’t have any concern with the matter,” Dr Ahmed said. “Instead of blaming others, the QAU administration should rectify the deficiencies pointed out by the report,” he said. Although, the QAU VC did not name any member of the ‘Group of Seven’, he claimed that they were academically weak and some of them had been denied promotions, elevations to TTS annual increments. However, he did not provide any evidence to prove his claims against the university staff. The HEC committee report states that the overall working environment at the university was not contusive for teaching and research. “A large number of posts are lying vacant in the varsity. Currently, 37 percent academic positions are vacant. The university has not taken any concrete step to fill these positions,” the report stated. “The 50 percent positions of professors, associate professors and lecturers have been created an academic imbalance in the university. The recruitment process of the university is not competitive and transparent,” the report stated. The report pointed many other flaws in the administrative system. Published in Daily Times, August 8th 2017.