PESHAWAR:
For the first time in the history of the University of Peshawar, the chancellor appointed a junior faculty member as the chairman of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. It is also unprecedented that the position of president has fallen to someone outside the department.
The VC, using its power under the Universities Act, appointed 17 department heads and at the same time extended their terms.
Among them is the recent appointment of the president of Journalism and Mass Communication. He had been transferred from the Institute of Management Studies just a day earlier and immediately made president.
This unprecedented decision bypassed established rules and deprived senior professors of their rightful promotions.
Similarly, the chairmen of Gender Studies, International Relations, Khyber Law Collage, Pashto and other departments were appointed for a third and fourth term, ignoring the previous chairperson of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Depending on university policy, the vice chancellor’s office will extend their terms or appoint senior professors as replacements. However, these protocols were ignored.
In another controversial move, the VC appointed the International Relations (IR) president as the acting president was on probation. The highest-ranking professors in the department were also ignored in this appointment.
This pattern of disregarding seniority and established procedures was also observed in other departments.
As per university regulations, the VC is supposed to consult the outgoing president or conduct interviews with three senior professors to determine the most suitable candidate.
