VC wants closure of UoS sub-campuses

LAHORE: Chief Justice Saqib Nisar on Saturday directed the NAB Lahore DG to probe the issue of non-issuance of degree transcript to the students of the University of Sargodha within a week.

The chief justice remarked that they did need educational institutions where was neither a student nor a teacher. “They are only meant to fleece students in the name of education,” he added.

A two-member bench headed by Chief Justice Nisar was hearing a suo motu case on a petition filed by the students of private sub-campuses of the university at Lahore Registry. Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan was the other member of the bench.

The chief justice asked the DG to hear to the VC who had put his job at stake by exposing the sub-campuses scam involving influential people. He expressed concerns over the poor quality of the sub-campuses and adding that they were distributing degrees without a regular faculty.

Appearing before the court, University of Sargodha VC Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad said the private sub-campuses students’ transcript issue had been resolved according to the court’s order. He highlighted the unlawful constitution of the five sub-campuses, including at Lahore and Mandi Bahauddin, which were not even approved by the university syndicate.

He said they allowed admissions over and above the allocated seats in different programmes. For example, Computer Science and IT Department admitted 4500 students in a year, whereas the main campus is admitting just 1500 students to maintain higher standards. He added that the sub-campuses conducted the exams of their students on their own without any control and involvement of the university.

The University of Sargodha had established five sub-campuses without proper advertisement, open competition and proper feasibility studies. The CEOs of these sub-campuses also lacked expertise and experience in the field of higher education, explained the VC, adding that the Public-Private Partnership Policy was prepared in a haphazard manner without safeguarding the interest of a public sector university and completion of legal obligations. The VC said the private campuses had been turned into money-making machines, cheating the poor and lower middle-class parents and playing with the future of youth. He sought the closure of these campuses terming it a favour on the nation and urged the NAB to bring the culprits to book as the watchdog is already investigating the matter.

The chief justice asked where the NAB was and what the Higher Education Commission’s take on the issue was. Justice Ahsan remarked that permissions were granted to blue-eyed persons on political basis to open illegal sub-campuses and mint money from students with impunity.

The chief justice appreciated the VC’s work in acting against the powerful owners of the private sub-campuses. It’s worth noting that the syndicate, taking a sympathetic view, had decided to issue the transcript to the students of private sub-campuses. However, it has restricted the private sub-campuses from making new admissions during 2018.

Separately, the chief justice sought progress report on mercy petition of murderer of seven-year-old Zainab of Kasur.

He was informed that the convict, Imran, had filed a mercy petition against his death sentence to the president three year ago, but no progress had been done so. To this, the chief justice asked the Supreme Court registrar to seek progress report from relevant quarters.

The court also granted more time to the former head of Overseas Pakistanis Commission, Afzaal Bhatti, and directed the NAB DG to finalise the issue in a couple of days. Previously, the court had removed him from the office, requiring him to return the money he received under the head of salaries.