UoP erroneously notifies teacher’s retirement

PESHAWAR: The University of Peshawar has erroneously notified the retirement of Professor Dr Ijaz Khan despite the fact that he would be retiring more than two years later on February 2, 2020.

The notification said Dr Ijaz was due to retire on July 27, 2017. This meant today would be his last day in service.

He has asked the university administration to look into the matter and issue the correct notification to resolve the issue in a just manner. 

Dr Ijaz Khan has submitted his formal case to the vice-chancellor, but the matter is unresolved. Acting Vice-Chancellor, University of Peshawar, Prof Dr Mohammad Abid, admitted that he had received the file regarding the case and would look into it. 

Dr Abid said that he would seek comments from the establishment and legal section. “And if the plea of Dr Ijaz is correct, the matter would be resolved within a week,” he added.

He pointed out that if the matter was not resolved at the vice-chancellor’s level, Dr Ijaz would have the right to submit an appeal to the university syndicate, the governor and other relevant forums including the court. 

Dr Ijaz submitted that he was appointed in the University of Peshawar on April 16, 1988. The date of birth in his matriculation certificate at the time of his recruitment had been wrongly mentioned as July 27, 1957.

He maintained that immediately after his appointment he got corrected his date of birth through the court and made it February 2, 1960 and informed the university well in time – that is within 11 months of my appointment. Since then he added that all his appointments were made in accordance with the corrected date of birth certificate. 

Dr Ijaz was made assistant professor on January 3, 1999, associate professor on March 21, 2009 and professor on February 8, 2011 on the basis of the corrected certificate bearing his date of birth as February 2, 1960.

According to Dr Ijaz, all applications that he submitted for other positions and assignments including the latest one for the vice-chancellor were sent through the office of registrar on the basis of the corrected date of birth certificate. 

The university administration has also forwarded his application to the Higher Education Commission for PhD supervisor with the documents carrying his correct date of birth. 

It merits a mention here that the Insta Code of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa permits correction in date of birth if made within two years of appointment. 

The services rules of the Government of Pakistan also allow a candidate to correct date of birth within two years of appointment. Several decisions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan substantiate this policy of the government. 

Dr Ijaz urged the university administration to revisit the notification pertaining to his retirement and correct it in accordance with his actual date of birth.