LAHORE: The two syndicate members of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) have expressed serious concern over, what they say, non-compliance of the Tenure Track System (TTS) statutes in the varsity.

In a letter to the Higher Education Commission and the UET vice chancellor, Prof Khalid Mahmoodul Hasan and Dr Amanat Ali Bhatti said there had been a growing unrest among the faculty members due to statutory violation and non-judicious way of running the TTS affair at theuniversity.

`Despite many attempts to raise the issue of the compliance of TTS statutes, the UET administration has taken no course of responsibility,` it said, urging the authorities concerned to stop these unlawful practices on the campus.

The HEC has already announced slashing grants to universities that have appointed teachers serving under the Tenure Track System on administrative posts against its order.

Some universities in the country have followed the HEC directive and removed teachers serving under the TTS from administrative posts but still many others arereluctant to comply with.

The UET teachers further said the TTS was adopted by the UET in 2004. `The UET adopted only the salary package enhancement part without the enactment of the revised statutes hence neglecting and violating the other essential requirements of the revised TTS statutes,` the letter says.

It says the salary package of TTS faculty has been increased manifold but necessary amendments to the statutes not made thus the UET administration committed gross violation and kept on running the TTS affairs without any legal justification.

`Time and again this matter hasbeen brought to the notice of the UET administration with emphasis on the gross violation of the statutes and malpractices but to no avail,` it says.

The UET syndicate members further said a recent example was the panel of professors forwarded by the UET for the appointment of dean of faculty of civil engineering that included three names and all were part of the TTS faculty who were not yet tenured but were rather on probation.

`Practices here at UET Lahore are not according to the TTS statutes at all, thereby eventually damaging the spirit of TTS statutes and rule of law.