ISLAMABAD, FEB 26 (DNA) – A meeting of Deans, Directors and Chairs at Quaid-i-Azam University on Monday decided to resolve all the faculty issues through negotiations.

“The senior administration (which includes the deans, the registrar, and the vice chancellor) is willing to sit down for any discussions and negotiations with the ASA (Academic Staff Association)”, a notification signed by the Vice Chancellor and two deans after the meeting stated.

A group of teaching faculty at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has threatened to disrupt the academic activities until its key demand of resignation of Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed Ashraf is accepted.

The group tried but failed to prevent the meeting of Deans, Directors and Chairs and disrupt its process proceedings.

In a white paper circulated on faculty portal, members of the ASA group have accused the Vice-Chancellor of failing to improve the academic standards at QAU.

This claim is however contradicted by the university’s performance during over three-year tenure of the incumbent Vice Chancellor, when QAU has been ranked as number one Pakistani university the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Recently, the university also secured its place among the top 100 Asian universities, after becoming the only Pakistani university included in the list of top 500 universities of the world in the Times Higher Education Index last year.

The QAU Administration had earlier as well repeatedly offered the protesting faculty members to discuss all the unresolved issues, but they continued to refuse to engage in negotiations with the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar and even the Dean’s Committee. They have also refused to submit their grievances in writing to the Joint Educational Advisor, Mr Rafiq Tahir, who was tasked to mediate on the matter by the Minister for Education The administration believes the faculty protest is being fueled by the vested interests of some professors, whose appointment cases have either been rejected in Selection Board or the HEC has not endorsed their promotion under Tenure Track System.

This allegedly includes the ASA President, Dr Aqeel Bukhari, the leader of the protesting group. Other cases include two faculty members demoted by the HEC for lacking publications, and two other faculty members facing litigation in Islamabad High Court due to unlawful appointment and separate enquires on charges of official misconduct and claiming unverified PhD.

The QAU administration insists that it will adhere to the rules and regulations of the University, and their lawful implementation through the Selection Board and the Syndicate, without caving into the unjustified demands of the faculty.

“I will be the last person to dilute the rules which will benefit some individuals at the expense of the premier research institution of the country,” says Dr Javed Ashraf.

The notification issued on Monday also states that the Vice Chancellor will respond to the ASA’s White Paper on faculty portal and thereafter meet the ASA.

The QAU has nearly 300 faculty members. Out of which, around 40 to 50 have joined the protests in the past week or so, some allegedly forced to do so. They have threatened to boycott classes and not to submit exam results.

However, there are many faculty members who increasingly feel the ASA is being manipulated by a select group of their colleagues who have a personal vendetta against the Vice Chancellor for refusing to accept their unlawful demands.

“They are the same people who were leveling similar allegations against the former VC, Dr Masoom Yasinzai for the same reason. They have stooped so low that recently they even provoked students to go on strike against the administration,” said a QAU faculty member while requesting anonymity.