Junior faculty member made NCAU acting principal

A junior faculty member’s appointment as acting principal of the National College of Arts University (NCAU) has raised a few eyebrows among academic circles across the country, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Bashir Ahmed took charge of office on Saturday after Fauzia Qureshi retirement. Interestingly, the entire procedure was completed on a holiday to hide it from students and officials. Bashir was head of the Fine Arts Department and appointed as acting principal overstepping two senior candidates. According to rules, when a principal retires, he/she hands over charge to the most senior professor. NCAU administration ignored the fact that many cases are pending in the Lahore High Court (LHC) challenging the appointment of juniors to senior posts by ignoring merit.
A notification via fax was sent from the Federal Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry to NCAU stating that Bashir has been appointed as acting principal. The office staff was also directed, through a circular, to be present on Saturday, which is rare because it is a day-off, for Bashir’s installation ceremony. According to sources, Bashir had moved the Supreme Court (SC) against the college administration for not giving him promotion.
According to a summary sent to the Federal Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry in May, the NCAU management elevated a penal of three senior faculty members including Professor Shabnam Khan, head of the design department, Associate Professor Sajjad Kausar, officiating head of the architect department and Associate Professor Bashir Ahmed, head of the fine arts department, as suitable candidates for the slot. Shabnam is the only full professor in BPS-21 in NCAU and holds a PhD. The other two candidates are only masters in their disciplines and working in BPS-20. Kausar is also senior to Bashir.
Shabnam, who has been bypassed, completed her PhD from Harvard University, US, MA Art Education, US, MA International Education from Harvard University, US, Postgraduate Diploma in Design from PDI, Karachi and Diploma in Design from NCA.
The National College of Arts, Lahore Ordinance 1985 makes it mandatory for the federal government to appoint a regular principal upon retirement of a sitting incumbent within six months.
Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani holds portfolio of the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination and directly chairs meetings of the NCAU. When asked why a junior was appointed as principal on an a holiday, sources said, “Fauzia Qureshi is retiring on Saturday and technically the same day someone has to take the charge so Bashir took the charge on Saturday”.
On the other hand, strong resentment was seen among students and faculty members over appointment of a junior as principal. A faculty member, seeking anonymity, said that it is a tragedy that the federal government is directly dealing with affairs of the NCAU. She said that NCAU is a federal institution where art education is taught and now it seems that students will learn cheating and violation of rules.
A female student said that they were not expecting such a violation of rules, as incidents like this were not seen before the college became a university. She said that the PM had made NCA a university and students were expecting the graph of the varsity would rise but after becoming a varsity, corruption is gaining ground. She said that students are expressing their reservations by exchanging SMS and making phone calls and now it is the responsibility of federal authorities to decide on merit. She said that students, even from foreign countries, are studying here and this violation of merit is a surprise for them.