Reminder notice served on universities against 11 complaints of non-compliance of policy guidelines 

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) Plagiarism Standing Committee’s 22nd meeting took up the matter of plagiarism complaints against faculty members and researchers of 10 universities. The meeting was chaired by HEC Executive Director Dr. Arshad Ali.
The committee deliberated upon complaints which are not actioned upon by respective universities even after passage of the stipulated period of 90 days after reporting of the case.
The committee discussed 22 plagiarism complaints and directed to issue reminders in 11 cases with clear warning to universities where plagiarism complaints were pending. It also blacklisted faculty members in two cases who have not complied with HEC directives. Six cases were closed as per policy and two others were referred to the Expert Committee.
The Executive Director stressed the need to follow merit while evaluating such complaints and emphasized upon formulating a mechanism to develop quality research culture at universities.
Earlier, Engr. Muhammad Ismail, Consultant Quality Assurance, informed the members about the process followed by Quality Assurance Division for processing plagiarism complaints. He was universities were not following plagiarism policy in letter and spirit. He said that HEC nominees in the Plagiarism Standing Committee need to be responsible for proper compliance of the policy.