ISLAMABAD: Creative Society Pakistan President Dr Tahir Rasheed, who is a candidate for the post of Higher Education Commission (HEC) chairman, wrote a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and requested him to take notice of plagiarism committed by former HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed and to direct the commission to form an unbiased/competent inquiry committee to investigate the allegations against the former chairman.
The letter stated that HEC, constituted in 2002, was the supreme body established primarily for funding, overseeing, regulating, and accrediting the higher education institutions in Pakistan. It further stated that the higher education in Pakistan was passing through a turbulent time mainly due to irregular appointments of incompetent leadership in the commission and in universities.
The letter also said that appointments at top positions by disregarding merit have already destroyed the higher education sector in the country. The role of HEC chairman was vital for the well-being of the education sector and along with many other functions, he was responsible for implementing the plagiarism policy of the commission, it added.
Unfortunately, the former HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, currently facing a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry on corruption and misconduct charges, had been allegedly involved in plagiarism, it stated.
The letter also said that page seven of the experience history submitted by Dr Ahmed to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training during ongoing selection process for the slot of HEC chairperson and page 10 of previous experience history submitted to the federal education ministry in 2014, clearly mentioned that four books/manuscripts were written, vetted and published by the former HEC chairman, including Human Resource Management, Principles of Marketing, Organisational Behaviour and Leadership and Team Management.
Published by Virtual University Pakistan, all books mentioned by Dr Ahmed as his own were allegedly plagiarised up to 88 per cent.