Eyebrows raised over appointments in Fuuast contrary to terms in advert

The teachers’ unions of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (Fuuast) have accused high-ups of the varsity of inviting blue-eyed candidates for tests and interviews for the appointments of lecturers, assistant professors and associate professors.

The two unions of the varsity have raised questions over the appointment process. They claim that the appointments are not being made in accordance with criteria mentioned in the relevant advertisement issued by Fuuast.

The unions have asked the varsity’s administration to advertise again for the vacant positions if it wanted to make appointments in line with new criteria of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan.

Fuuast is holding tests and interviews with regard to an advertisement for new appointments it published in various newspapers in 2013.

It was stated in the advertisement that the varsity intended to make fresh appointments in various departments including chemistry, business administration, economics, environmental science, geology, mass communication, mathematics, biology, Pakistan studies, and statistics.

According to the terms and condition mentioned in the advertisement, candidates having PhD degrees would be preferred while those who had completed their masters studies from any recognised university and had the teaching experience of six years were also eligible to apply for the job vacancies.

In addition to that, it was also mentioned in the advertisement that the officials concerned of the varsity had the right to cancel the entire appointment process at any time and any stage. In such cases, any of the applicants would have no right to initiate legal proceedings against Fuuast.

Union’s stance

Fuuast Teachers Union General Secretary Dr Erfan Aziz explained that after the publication of the advertisement, the HEC introduced new criteria in 2015 for appointments at public sector universities and degree awarding institutes.

“It is not appropriate to apply the latest introduced conditions on recruitment process for which the varsity had advertised dated back in 2013,” Dr Aziz said. Terming the ongoing hiring process illegal, the union general secretary asked Fuuast Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Syed Altaf Hussain and Registrar Afzal Ahmed to clarify their stance.

Asking the Fuuast administration to issue written bylaws for the recruitment process, Dr Aziz said the authorities concerned should not open the doors of corruption in the varsity in the name of fresh appointments.

Varsity’s clarification

When asked to comment on the controversy, Fuuast Spokesperson Raees Jafri said in the advertisement published in 2013, the varsity had maintained that candidates who had 1st division in their masters would be eligible for the post of lecturer.

He, however, added that the HEC later changed its criteria for the appointment of lecturers. “Those who have MPhil degrees are eligible to appear for the test and interviews while the varsity is not accepting new applications,” he said.