Faculty members urge VC to immediately remove ULC principal

–Resolution demanding removal of ULC principal submitted in Punjab Assembly

LAHORE: Senior faculty members of the Punjab University Law College have revolted against the University Law College (ULC) Principal Dr Shazia Qureshi and submitted a resolution to the incumbent Vice Chancellor (VC) Prof Dr Zakriya Zakar, demanding her immediate removal, Pakistan Today has learnt.

As per the details, a resolution signed by seven senior-most faculty members of the ULC was submitted to the VC against the incumbent principal Dr Shazia Qureshi accusing her of the deteriorating situation of the college and demanding her immediate removal from the coveted office that she has been holding since 2013 when her husband Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran was the vice chancellor of the varsity.

“A strong protest would be initiated against the incompetent and illegally imposed principal who is responsible for prevalent deteriorated situation of the august institution,” the text of the resolution said, which was signed by assistant professors of the ULC including Dr Amanullah Malik, Dr Shahbaz Ahmad Cheema, Dr Naveed Ahmad, Chaudhry Javaid Akhtar, Samee Ozair Khan and Iftikhar Tarar along with a female lecturer, Khujista Rehan.

Speaking to Pakistan Today, Samee Ozair Khan, a signatory of the resolution said that the persistent deterioration of one of the most reputed law colleges of the past prompted them to take this grave step as the college had become nearly dysfunctional due to the incompetence of the principal who “did not take any interest in running the affairs of the college”.

“Both the students and teachers are not showing any interest in the classes of LLB due to the negligence of the principal and only a few students attend the lectures regularly,” Khan said, who himself remained the principal of the college from 2010 to 2013.

The result of LLM is also being awaited for long, despite the fact that only 35 students were enrolled in the LLM programme, he added. He said that no law moots were being held in the college these days despite the fact that they were mandatory for law students to learn about the decorum of courts.

“The Supreme Court has taken a suo motu notice regarding legal education that is being imparted in the country and there is a possibility that our own college may come under the radar of the apex court as its condition is deteriorating rapidly. The VC should take a prompt and wise decision to fix it,” he said.

It is worth mentioning here that Dr Shazia Qureshi was removed from professorship back in 2015 on the directives of the Lahore High Court (LHC) but still is the principal of the college.

Meanwhile, a resolution in this regard has also been submitted in the Punjab Assembly by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmaker Nabeela Hakim Ali demanding the immediate removal of the principal.

“The faculty members of Punjab University Law College have revolted against their principal. She has been promoted illegally while she has also been accused of recruitments that are against the law,” the resolution stated.

The lawmaker in her resolution also said the house demanded from the government to immediately remove the principal from her office while also probing the allegations levelled against her.

When contacted, the spokesperson of the Punjab University Khurram Shehzad said that internal politics among the faculty members were involved in the episode of Dr Shazia Qureshi and there was nothing illegal in her appointment as the principal. “All the faculty members should play their positive role for the betterment of the varsity,” he added.