PESHAWAR: The faculty members of Fata University, Darra Adamkhel, complained on Tuesday that they had not been paid their salaries for three months because of the legal vacuum created by completion of tenure of the vice-chancellor and non-appointment of the new authority.

They demanded of the provincial government to appoint the authority to release their salaries as they had been facing financial problems.

Speaking at a press conference at Peshawar Press Club, the teachers headed by Prof Dr Akbar Ali, head of the English Department at the Fata University, said nonpayment of salaries had affected 25 faculty members and 85 other staff members.

He said Fata University had started its functions at Akhorwal in Darra Adamkhel in December 2016 initially with four departments, including Management Sciences, Political Science, Sociology and Mathematics. He said 76 students had been enrolled in the first batch and currently the number of enrolled students in the Fata University stood at about 700.

He said three more departments, including English, Geology and Computer Science, were established in 2017.

Prof Akbar Ali said the university staff had not been paid their monthly salaries since March 2020 as tenure of vice-chancellor Prof Tahir Shah was not extended by the provincial government and there was no pro-VC to assume the VC office and thus a legal vacuum has been created in the university.

He said the higher education department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in its notification had promulgated the KP Universities Model Act in Fata University.

After this notification, the vice-chancellor, Fata University, had not signed any salary document of the employees, claiming he was no longer authorised.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2020