The University of Agriculture Peshawar has terminated 252 employees following a Supreme Court ruling regarding their irregular recruitment over the past decade. Additionally, 318 staff members have been reverted to their previous grades due to “illegal” promotions, according to sources.
Out of the dismissed employees, 40 held basic pay scale-18, six were in BPS-17, and the remainder were in BPS-16 and below. Sources revealed that over the past decade, the university had hired a significant number of employees in violation of the Higher Education Commission’s criteria, leading to severe financial difficulties.
It was disclosed that the university had recruited 247 teaching and 847 non-teaching staff members, disregarding the HEC’s prescribed recruitment ratio of 1-1.5. This resulted in the hiring of 477 excess non-teaching employees beyond the stipulated ratio.
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The university’s current budget deficit stands at Rs1 billion. The dismissed 252 employees were irregularly recruited on contracts, later regularized by the Peshawar High Court in 2019, upon their request. However, the Supreme Court recently overturned this decision.
The termination of these employees is expected to provide the university with an annual relief of Rs300 million, according to sources. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Jehan Bakht confirmed the removal of employees, stating that the university is implementing the Supreme Court verdict in its larger interest.
The university is facing a serious financial crisis, struggling to pay pensions and salaries. There are concerns that it may not be able to pay salaries and pensions for the upcoming month. Meanwhile, UAP employees staged a protest against the terminations.
Addressing the protesters, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz election candidate Haider Bacha warned of further protests if the termination decision is not withdrawn by Monday. The majority of the laid-off employees belong to the Khalil tribe.
Responding to the threats, the VC stated that he had reported the matter to relevant authorities, including the police and intelligence agencies.