‘Conflict of interest’ alleged in professor emeritus title conferment

PESHAWAR: The Syndicate of Agriculture University Peshawar has recommended the status of professor emeritus to its three retired professors, including the current vice-chancellor, sparking concern among the remaining eligible candidates for the positions.

According to a notification issued by the office of the registrar of the university, the syndicate in its 115th meeting held on June 14, 2023 recommended the names of former vice-chancellor of the university Prof Dr Khan Bahadar Marwat, current vice-chancellor Prof Dr Jehan Bakht and Prof Dr Muhammad Ibrahim Khattak, former vice-chancellor Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak for conferment of the prestigious status of professor emeritus.

A total of eight candidates were eligible for the four positions of professor emeritus in the university for the last several years. The university’s senate, which is the competent forum to grant the status to the candidates recommended by the university, had asked the university to enhance the number of seats so that the matter could be resolved.

However, according to a meritorious professor, the university administration was deliberately delaying the case on one pretext or another. The case, according to him, was delayed for four long years. And now in April this year when the incumbent vice-chancellor retired as a professor and became eligible for the position, the case was presented before the syndicate the very next month - June - without having been on the agenda of the meeting, he said.

This clearly showed the intentions of the vice-chancellor, who delayed it for four long years for his personal benefit, he alleged. What else could be a bigger conflict of interest than this, he added.

According to the university’s statutes, a retired professor, who has served as a vice-chancellor for one full tenure before his retirement as a professor and a meritorious professor, would be eligible for the grant of the status of professor emeritus.

The university has at least eight professors, who have retired either as a meritorious professor or served as vice-chancellor. Vice-chancellor of the university Dr Jehan Bakht in a previous conversation with The News had stated that the number of positions was less and the candidates were more. Also, the case had financial implications. Therefore, they would either grant the status to four persons on merit or give the status to all the eligible candidates without giving financial benefits to them, the vice-chancellor had told this reporter before the meeting of the syndicate.

Reached for comments on Tuesday after the issuance of the notification, the vice-chancellor said that two types of professors were eligible for the status.

One: the retired meritorious professors and two: the retired professors who have served as a vice-chancellor for at least one full tenure before their retirement as professor. But the status makes it clear that the meritorious professor “may be” and the vice-chancellor(s) “shall be” granted the status.

So, only three persons were fulfilling the “shall be” criteria and their names were recommended to the senate for final approval. Recommendation of a fourth candidate would be made later, he said.

He said that he, if approved, would start getting benefits of the status after April 22, 2025 - the completion of his tenure as vice-chancellor.

The left-out candidates said that the positions had been vacant for many years and the vice-chancellor was not considering their application. But now he became eligible, he started giving the notion of “shall be” and “may be”, one of the candidates said.