‘Sports experience not required for heading KU’s sports body’

While the University of Karachi (KU) has a director of Physical Education, the varsity has appointed a lecturer without any link to sports to convene the 2012 Sports Committee, which grants admissions to candidates on the sports quota.
This move has sounded alarm bells about possible favouritism with regard to admissions on sports quota this year.
Moreover, there is a possibility of non-cooperation by KU’s Directorate of Physical Education over the Admissions director’s decision to select a man with no sports experience for the sports committee. Admissions Director Prof Dr Khalid Iraqi has constituted committees to finalise the list of candidates who would be granted admissions on quota bases.
The most important among these committees was the 2012 Sports Committee, in which the candidates who could not get admissions on merit basis could try their luck on the basis of their sports experience.
The committee scrutinises applications of those candidates who wish to enrol in the varsity on the basis of their sports history. It is the responsibility of the sports committee to evaluate the candidates during interviews to find out whether an applicant is a real sportsperson or just someone with a sports certificate, and if necessary, the committee is also authorised to conduct trials to assess their skills. KU has appointed Prof Dr Shakil Ahmed Khan of the Microbiology Department for the post of the 2012 Sports Committee Convenor.
Committee members comprise Botany Department Chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Javed Zaki, Physical Education Director Mrs Anjum Aziz, Political Science Department Chairperson Dr Nusrat Idrees and Health & Physical Education Department Chairman Basit Ansari. After his appointment, Dr Khan convened a meeting of the committee on Monday to discuss matters related to admissions on seats reserved for sportspersons, but the meeting could not be conducted, because two of the committee members boycotted the meeting over Khan’s appointment.
Khan said he did not know why Physical Education Director Mrs Aziz and Health & Physical Education Department Chairman Ansari did not attend the meeting. However, he added, Political Science Department Chairperson Dr Idrees had informed him that she was feeling unwell to attend the meeting, and only Botany Department Chairman Dr Zaki had turned up.
Responding to a question, Khan said, “If you take a look at KU’s history, you will come to realise that only a few sportspersons have ever been appointed as the convenor of the sports committee.”
When Aziz was approached for comments, she said she has a busy schedule and the convenor had informed her about the meeting at the eleventh hour; therefore, it was impossible for her to disturb her schedule. Regarding Khan’s appointment, she said, “I’m a sportsperson. If I’m asked to deliver a lecture, how would it be possible for me to perform my assigned task efficiently?” She said when she was the 2011 Sports Committee convener, she had conducted trials to assess the skills of the candidates who had applied on the sports quota.
“I don’t know if that would be the criterion of admission on sports quota this year as well,” she added. Admissions Director Dr Iraqi said it is not necessary for the convenor of the sports committee to be a sportsperson. Iraqi said admissions on sports quota are awarded on rules that were passed by KU’s Academic Council and the condition of trials is not a part of these rules. He said the council has set five conditions for admissions on sports quota: the applicant should be (1) a member of a winning or runner-up team in a national championship; (2) a member of an educational board’s team; (3) a member of a winning or runner-up team in an inter-provincial championship; (4) a member of a senior or junior team; (5) a member of a winning or runner-up team of an inter-university or intermediate board’s team.
“I formed committees for granting admissions on quota bases some 15 days ago and asked the convenor of all the committees to submit the final list of selected candidates as early as possible,” he added. When asked regarding two members’ boycott of the sports committee’s first meeting over Khan’s appointment, Iraqi said he was unaware of the issue and would call Khan on Tuesday to discuss the matter with him.