Former principal of RMC charge-sheeted

Former principal of RMC charge-sheeted
Rawalpindi: After a preliminary inquiry into a number of cases involving financial and disciplinary irregularities at the office of principal Rawalpindi Medical College and Incharge Allied Hospitals, former RMC principal has been charge-sheeted under PEDA.

The provincial government has also appointed Secretary Minorities Arshad Bin Ahmed as inquiry officer to get response from the accused including former RMC principal Dr. Muhammad Mussadiq Khan, as to why they should not be declared accountable into the corruption cases.

RMC Principal Professor Dr. Muhammad Afzal Farooqi when contacted, confirmed that the former RMC principal along with a few other officials have been charged sheeted into the cases of irregularities under PEDA while inquiry officer has issued notices to the accused including Dr. Mussadiq seeking their replies. It is important that a high-level inquiry was conducted to investigate a number of cases allegedly involving financial and disciplinary irregularities at the office of RMC principal last year.

The inquiry committee headed by a provincial secretary started examining record at the RMC principal office on April 19 last year in a number of cases related to purchase of different equipment and appointment of staff including doctors at the RMC and allied hospitals.

Earlier, Professor of Surgery and Ex-Principal RMC Dr. Mohammad Mussadiq Khan was made OSD after an inquiry conducted by a special Task Force of Administrative Efficiencies at Chief Minister's Secretariat into a number of corruption cases at RMC and allied hospitals. The provincial government removed Dr. Mussadiq from his post with immediate effect through a notification issued on March 15 last year.

The Task Force took nearly four months to finalise the inquiry into the corruption cases that was initiated during November 2009. However, later in April, another inquiry committee started working to investigate financial and disciplinary irregularities at RMC and allied hospitals. When asked, Dr. Afzal Farooqi said that after charge sheet, the accused have been asked to submit their replies to Inquiry Officer Arshad Bin Ahmed two weeks back.

"The inquiry officer would finalise its report into the matter within 60 days," said Dr. Farooqi while responding to a query.

Seminar on future of higher education held at QAU
Islamabad: The National Students Federation (NSF) organised a seminar titled 'HEC and the Future of Higher Education' at the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU).

The seminar was organised in order to bring forth both sides of this highly polarised debate and to engender a culture of debate and tolerance on university campuses. Speakers included QAU faculty members Dr. Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, Dr. Tahir Amin, Dr. Khursheed Hasnain and Mushtaq Gaadi.

Dr. Aasim Sajjad spoke about the need to view the issue of the devolution objectively and dispassionately, as opposed to the rhetorical and incendiary debate currently being waged on the national media. He pointed out that devolution had long been an object of focus of various governments, including the Musharraf government, but the media only created a controversy about devolution in times when democratic governments were in power.

Dr. Khursheed Hasnain spoke about the need for a phased devolution of the HEC and pointed out that the HEC in itself had achievements as well as flaws. He listed the digitisation of journal libraries and improvements in internet provision to universities as among the achievements of the HEC while pointing out that under prepared students were being sent for PhDs and the quality of those doctorates left much to be desired. He opposed the policies, which in his view were leading to an erosion of the quality of higher education and giving rise to greed, plagiarism, and commercialisation of higher education.

Dr. Tahir Amin presented a defence of the HEC's performance and stressed that there were political, rather than legal reasons behind the devolution of the HEC to the provinces. He claimed that the politicians were carrying out a vendetta against the HEC for exposing the fake degrees of legislators. He also spoke of the lack of capacity in the provinces to manage higher education while conceding that greater provincial equity and provincial participation in the management of higher education is required.

Mushtaq Gaadi expressed the opinion that the HEC has served primarily as a vehicle of the commercialisation of higher education as opposed to an institution that has improved quality, accessibility, or equity in higher education. He objected to the claim that the HEC was necessary in order to ensure transparency in the governance of higher education, pointing out that its own decision-making procedures and selection criteria for funding were highly opaque.

A lively discussion ensued after the speeches on the merits of the HEC's devolution. Interestingly enough, most of the students presented a nuanced understanding of the matter, and were mindful of the need for greater empowerment of the provinces in matters of higher education. Overall, the participants managed to achieve a consensus that provincial autonomy was a desirable policy option as well as a constitutional reality and that it is through the democratic process, which necessarily includes decentralisation of decision-making in various fields.