ISLAMABAD: Despite the passage of several months, the plagiarised PhD degree of Federal Urdu University of Arts Science and Technology (FUUAST) Vice Chancellor Sulaiman D Mohammad has not been cancelled yet, Daily Times has learnt.

According to available information, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had investigated claims that Sulaiman D Mohammad had plagiarised his PhD thesis. After the inquiry, the HEC found out that most of Sulaiman D Mohammad’s research papers, including his thesis, were plagiarised.

Sources in the HEC revealed that after the inquiry, the commission had written to the Karachi University (KU), telling them that plagiarism had been proved in Sulaiman’s 22 publications as well as his thesis.

The HEC had recommended to the KU to cancel the doctoral degree. Sulaiman D Mohammad was awarded a doctorate degree by the KU in 2010 in Economics. He was promoted from the post of assistant professor to associate professor, and then professor, which was then followed by his appointment as dean at the university. Now he is serving as the acting VC of FUUAST.

An official of the HEC, who was the part of meeting with KU in this regard, told Daily Times that the HEC had insisted on notifying the withdrawal of Sulaiman’s degree. “However, they still stubbornly refuse to do so,” he said.

According to sources, Sulaiman was promoted to the post of associate professor without any selection board, which is also a violation of rules.

Since inception of the HEC, it is the second such case in which the PhD of any scholar has been declared to be withdrawn after investigation. Last year, Preston University Islamabad had withdrawn a doctorate degree issued to a student who was then serving as pro-rector of Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT).

The HEC had found 72 percent plagiarism in the PhD degree of CIIT Pro Rector Haroon Rashid. Rashid was awarded PhD in Computer Science by the Preston University.

Latter Rashid also challenged the decision of the Preston University in the Islamabad High Court (IHC). However, the court also upheld the decision of cancellation of the degree.

Rashid was serving as pro-rector CIIT as well as head of the National Testing Service (NTS). He was then removed from both posts.

There are a large number of PhD scholars and faculty members who have been blacklisted by the HEC. However, such people continue to serve on their posts.

Several of them are still serving as faculty members in public sector universities.

Educationists have urged the HEC to devise a policy to deal with such culprits sternly instead just blacklisting them. They suggested that the commission should have a mechanism to check degrees of teachers before they were promoted or appointed to administrative posts.

Published in Daily Times, June 26th, 2017.