Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair has finally removed Dr. Masood Hameed Khan from the position of vice chancellor of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) and assigned the post to Dow’s pro-vice chancellor, Prof Khawar Saeed Jamali, pending further orders.
A notification issued by the governor’s principal secretary Muhammad Sualeh Farouqi, states that Prof Khan retired on November 6, 2014. The very next day, however, he had been re-employed as professor of medicine and director of the Serobiological Centre for a period of two years. He was also given the additional charge of the post of vice chancellor.
Further to that, another notification from the Governor House explicitly declares that Dr. Masood Hameed Khan’s re-employment contract as professor of medicine and director of the Serobiological Centre DUHS expired on November 6, 2016. Since then, he had been illegally serving as vice chancellor of the highly prominent establishment, and receiving a salary without any legal provision or mandate from DUHS.
“Consequent upon the ‘seization of his substantive position, his additional charge as Vice Chancellor also stands terminated,” the notification said.
The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and other bodies of health professionals are greeting the news of Khan’s removal positively and praising the governor for taking this courageous step. Many express that they had been demanding the appointment of a permanent vice chancellor for a long time.
In a statement, the PMA hoped that due course of law would be followed and a competent health professional and educationist would be appointed the new vice chancellor of the varsity without further ado.