LAHORE:The PunjabUniversity syndicate will take up the matter of an alleged `forgery` case in which an inquiry committee has recommended action against its own member and the principal of the varsity`s college of information technology (PUCIT) under the PEEDA Act next month.

A PU official told Dawn on Thursday that the administration constituted a committee headed by Prof Muhammad Saleem to probe a complaint against lecturer Shumalla Gul of the Institute of Business Information Technology(IBIT) that her master degree was not equivalent to MPhil.

`The lecturer in connivance with the PUCIT principal who was then part of the varsity`s Equivalence Committee got her master`s degree in business information technology declared equivalent to the MPhil in 2010,` the complainant alleged.

`The committee has completed probe and found the allegations true.

It has recommended the administration to take action against the lecturer who is also a syndicate member and PUCIT Principal Dr Mansoor Sarwar under PEEDA (Punjab Employees Efficiency Discipline and Accountability) Act,` a PU spokesman told Dawn. He said it was a case of forgery.

`Vice-Chancellor Prof MujahidKamran has forwarded the case to the syndicate for taking a decision in the light of the probe committee`s findings. The syndicate`s next meeting is scheduled for next month and both the lecturer and the principal may defend themselves at that forum,` he said.

Expressing her wonder over the varsity management`s efficiency in taking up this matter after five years, Shumaila Gul said she was being victimised because she was a petitioner in the case against the VC`s wife.

She said she had done her postgraduation degree under the Higher Education`s Summer Programme having nine semesters. `Therefore, this degree`s period is three years or so. And I was not the only holder of this degree that is given the equiva-lence status to MPhil,` she said, adding that the administration had made a fake case against her to keep her silent on its irregularities in different appointments.

Prof Mansoor Sarwar told Dawn that he was one of the members of the equivalence committee back in 2010 and not its head. `Therefore, my vote in favour of Ms Shumaila degree does not matter that much.

If the varsity thinks there was some problem in it, it should better ask the then head of the equivalence commit tee. However, let me tell you that under the semester system worldwide her master degree is equivalent to three years,` he said.

Prof Sarwar said: `This move is aimed at defaming me but I will faceit.`-ZT