The Sindh governor’s Vice Chancellor Search Committee (VCSC) rejected a potential candidate for the coveted post of vice chancellor at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Jamshoro for not having moustache, the unfortunate aspirant – a professor, currently living in Perth, Australia – told Pakistan Today.
Prof Dr Mehfooz Soomro contacted Pakistan Today and claimed that he was rejected by the VCSC for not being suitable for the job as he had no moustache.
The professor said that he had come across the advertisement for vacancy at MUET in the last week of March and since he fulfilled all the criteria, he applied for the position on April 8. “On April 13, I received a letter calling me for an interview on April 17 in the vice chancellor’s office of University of Karachi (KU),” he said, adding that he was teaching at a university in Germany at the time.
“I went to Pakistan for the interview. I reached the KU vice chancellor’s office and waited for my turn. When I entered the room, there were Prof Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, the convener of VCSC at that time; Dr SM Qureshi, who held the MUET VC office for over 8 years; Dawood College of Engineering and Technology (DCET) acting principal Dr AQ Mughal, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam VC, NED University of Engineering and Technology VC and Sindh Governor’s Principal Secretary Mumtazur Rehman.
“I was asked to introduce myself, which I did, and then about the education systems prevalent in Australia and Europe, Germany in particular, as my university education is from UK, and I was living and working in Germany when the interview took place,” the professor said.
“The second question was about how to generate money for running the university affairs. I replied that the effective way to make more money is to bring in foreign students. The answer was a bitter pill to swallow by the VCSC as it takes a Herculean effort to build a university’s image abroad and attract foreign students.
“Then, the DCET acting principal asked me if the Germans are keen in using allopathic medicines. I told him that a limited number, mostly elderly Germans and not the younger generation, is interested. Unexpectedly, the governor’s secretary chipped in: ‘Dr Soomro you do not have a moustache and you appear unfit for the vice chancellorship’. And that’s where the interview ended. I reminded them that I bring with me my technical abilities and certifications, but no one took interest,” he said.
”I had expected the interview for vice chancellorship of a university to last for at least three or four hours, but my interview lasted the maximum of half-an-hour,” Soomro concluded.
When approached for comments, the KU vice chancellor told Pakistan Today that he could not recall such a non-serious issue taking place during the interviews for MUET’s vice chancellorship. “I respect all applicants who came for the interview and do not recall such a joke,” he added.
“When I was the VCSC convenor, I never called any candidate for interview and always invited them on tea to discuss the ideas for making things better around here,” he claimed. “I cannot recall Prof Dr Mehfooz Soomro but I will dig out the details, and if there is something non-serious, I will definitely inform you.”
At our varsities, moonch nahin to kuch nahin?
