The committee constituted to investigate cases of alleged harassment of two female students of Quaid-i-Azam University on Saturday recommended the QAU Syndicate fire the controller examination and a lecturer, whom the committee found guilty of charges leveled against them.
The committee presented both inquiry reports to the QAU Syndicate, the highest decision-making body of the university, and recommended forced retirement of the controller examination and termination from service of an Information Technology Department lecturer. The syndicate meeting chaired by Vice-Chancellor Dr Masoom Yasinzai discussed recommendations submitted by the committee at length and decided to meet again on July 29.
Among those who attended the meeting were MNA Sherry Rehman, Prof Dr Qasir Mushtaq, dean Faculty of Natural Sciences, QAU, Prof Dr Waseem Ahmad from the Department of Biochemistry, Dr Muhammad Ishaq from the Department of Chemistry, the QAU registrar and representatives of the Presidency and the Higher Education Commission.
A source told Pakistan Today that the findings of the reports have proven Controller Examination Sardar Babar and Noorul Islam, a lecturer at the IT Department, guilty and recommended the syndicate show them the door immediately.11 “The committee recommended forced retirement for the controller examination and termination from service for the lecturer,” the source said. The four-member committee was constituted last month after two cases of harassments surfaced back-to-back.
The case surfaced on June 17 when a female student of Natural Sciences lodged a written complaint with the vice chancellor, accusing the controller examination of sexually harassing her when she visited his office.
On July 8, another case of sexual harassment surfaced when a group of five female students from the Information Technology Department accused lecturer Noor-ul-Islam of intimidating them.
The students brought the matter to the vice chancellor’s notice, accusing the lecturer of harassing them, particularly one of their colleagues, asking her to respond to his sexual advances or he would fail her.
The inquiry committee comprised QAU Campus Manager Colonel (r) Nadeem Gill, Chemistry Department Chairman Dr Saqib Ali, Prof Dr Waseem of Bio Chemistry Department and Director Psychology Dr Anila Kamal.
