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Who should head NUML, president or COAS?

Posted on: Sat June 05, 2010

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will decide whether to substitute his name with President Asif Ali Zardari as Chairman Board of Governors (BoG) of the National University of Modern Languages (NUML).

General Kayani heads the all powerful NUML BoG but the National Assembly s Standing Committee on Education has directed the NUML to put its house in order and notify the name of the president of Pakistan as chairman BoG and remove the name of the chief of the army staff. The name of COAS is being carried since the Musharraf era when he was occupying both the offices, the presidency and the Army chief.

Talking to The News, NUML s Rector Brigadier (retd) Aziz Ahmad said he would forward the minutes of the NA Standing Committee s meeting to the BoG, which is headed by COAS or his nominee. He mentioned that Pervez Musharraf, being the president of Pakistan/chancellor of the university, had nominated the COAS as his nominee in NUML s BoG and that nomination is still there.

Aziz said that the NUML Ordinance 2000 was silent on the chairman BoG. However, at present, the Army chief heads the BoG. I have not received the minutes of the meeting of the NA committee and as soon as I receive them, I will send them to the BoG, headed by COAS/nominee, said the rector.

The NUML Ordinance says the president of Pakistan will be the chancellor of the university and shall preside over the convocations of the University and meetings at which business of the University is transacted.

Director General NUML Kamran Jahangir says that BoG is the only body where business of the university is transacted.

As far as the issue of presiding over the board of governors meeting, the ordinance has just mentioned the names of those who will be its members, including the Army chief/his nominee, the nominee of the chief justice of Pakistan, the rector himself, secretary defence/nominee, secretary education/nominee, secretary finance/nominee, foreign secretary/nominee, chairman HEC and senior professors of the university.

The ordinance does not mention that the Army chief or his nominee would preside over the meeting, yet his nominee inspector general Training and Evaluation, a lieutenant general, presides over the meeting since long. President Asif Zardari as chancellor had never been informed about the business transacted there until the Presidency itself disclosed it after taking notice of the thrashing event when a retired brigadier had beaten a teacher black and blue after he had commented on the NRO. Presidency s Additional Secretary Ishaq Lashari had confirmed in February this year that The president has never been involved in the university s business.

The NA Committee on Education had directed the NUML on May 25, 2010 to clarify the status of chairman board of governors, and issue a notification clearly mentioning the name of the president of Pakistan as the chairman and remove the name of chief of the Army staff as the chairman BoG.

Chairman of the Committee Abid Sher Ali, while talking to The News after that meeting, said that the NUML administration was hiding that the COAS was the chairman of its BoG because of Musharraf era practice and they were continuing with it while the ordinance had vested those poweors with the chancellor of the university.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) was asked the following questions through e-mail but it replied with no comments .

1) According to NUML Ordinance 2000, it s a public sector university with president of Pakistan as its chancellor and federal education minister pro-chancellor. Its business transaction should be approved by the chancellor. However, currently it s being done by a board of governors headed by the representative of Army chief, namely inspector general training. The ordinance said that Army chief/his representative would be a member of the BoG like others, not the chairman as presently he is. Would the relevant authorities explain under what legal authority have they been granted this right?

2) The ordinance does not mention that Army chief/ his representative would be the chairman of BoG but this practice continues since the establishment of the university. Can it be explained how?

3) NUML receives budgetary grants from the allocation made for public sector universities, not by defence department or the GHQ. Then how the Army can claim it is running it?

4) NUML has virtually turned into a family enterprise with rector s kith and kin. If the GHQ is the caretaker of the university affairs, has any action been taken against those responsible?

5) NUML s rector, a retired brigadier, sent his daughter and son-in-law abroad for PhD and the university is paying their expenses. Their scholarships, monthly stipends and yearly tuition fees has been approved by IGT&E-headed board of governors. Can the IJT office explain what law allows it?

Courtesy : The News