ASA concerned over holding faculty hostage by students

Islamabad : Academic Staff Association (ASA) of Quaid-i-Azam University has raised serious concerns over “illegal locking of School of Management Sciences (QASMS) and holding the faculty hostage inside the building”.

In a meeting of Executive Council (EC), the ASA noted this was an unprecedented incident in the history of the varsity.

Dr Burhan Ali Shah, Director, QASMS, briefed the participants that under existing rules, a ceased student cannot sit for an exam. However, a group of students gathered as a mob and demanded that the ceased student be permitted to appear in the midterm exam, threatening to disrupt the examination otherwise.

The QASMS faculty resisted this demand and upheld the rules leading to the students locking the building. The faculty members present at EC expressed ‘grave reservations’ about the hostage situation. They appreciated the QASMS faculty for adhering to rules and regulations without compromise.

The EC observed that it is the responsibility of the university administration to lock and unlock the buildings and provide conducive environment to run the academic activities smoothly but seems there is a “lack of coordination between the responsible administrative offices”.

The members highlighted that the draft minutes of the Academic Council meeting held on Oct 21 “had been forged.” The incident at QASMS stemmed from an agenda item which was not discussed by the Council but was “falsely recorded as a resolution.”

It may be mentioned that he minutes of Academic Council, Selection Board and Syndicate are prepared and issued by the Registrar office. First, draft minutes are circulated to all members of the concerned body for vetting.

In the present case, the forged draft minutes said as if a ceased student can sit in exam and the same was leaked to the student by some insider which led to students’ unprecedented agitation.

ASA body demanded an “immediate inquiry into the forgery, accountability for those responsible, and prompt rectification of the Academic Council minutes.”

The faculty members expressed serious concern over the breach of Campus Management Solutions software data and the failure of the Controller Examinations Office to maintain the secrecy of results. They also raised concerns about the inefficient security apparatus of the university and demanded that “those responsible for providing security to faculty and students be held accountable.”