Adil Najam
One of the earliest posts we did at ATP (27 June, 2006) was about our societal lack of intellectual morality and highlighted the case of some Punjab University Professors at the Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP) who had been accused of plagiarism and were under investigation.
I have tried to keep an eye on the story and while some details trickle in the movement has been disturbingly slow and some of the new revelations are even more disturbing.
In September we heard that the cheating professors would be served a charge sheet by the University of the Punjab and the professors given 7 days to respond. In October a single line in a news item suggested this had happened. I was more curious, however, to find out what would happen to the professors as a result of this.
I am still not sure what the answer is, but as of August, at least one of them was given a plushy key job by being elevated to the Advance Studies and Research Board (ASRB) of the University!
What message is the university sending to its students and the world by appointing someone convicted of cheating - i.e., academic theft and deception - to something called the ‘Advance Studies and Research Board’? By the way, the job of this Board is to approve all PhD level theses! According to the news report:
According to PU Registrar Dr Naeem Khan, the accusations of plagiarism had nothing to do with the ASRB. He said: “We have inducted him as an experimental physicist in recognition of services rendered to the varsity as former head of the PhD programme.”
I am still wondering what was their ‘punishment’?
They are still listed - some with smiling photographs - on the University website. Does anyone know? Please tell.
Meanwhile, now there is news from the American Institute of Physics (AIP), which does seem to be doing something about this. According to the Daily Times (14 December, 2006):
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) has withdrawn research papers by six Punjab University (PU) teachers from its records after finding the exact details of the plagiarism they were accused of. The AIP had initially doubted chances of plagiarism by the six teachers from the PU Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP) - Rashid Ahmed, Fazal-e-Aleem, Maqsood Ahmad, Haris Rashid, MA Saeed and Ayub Faridi) whose articles they had added to their records and their website.
The institute has now confirmed plagiarism by the teachers, individually elaborating the scale of plagiarism in each write-up. According to recent developments published on the AIP website, “Upon analysis of the article Computational Methods: Tool for Electronic Structure Analysis of Solids, the vast majority of the text can been attributed to nearly identical blocks of text in three sources that were not cited in the article and to a fourth source that was cited but to which inadequate attribution was given. The publisher, the American Institute of Physics, is thus issuing a retraction of this article.�
Official AIP documents further explain that PU teachers Rashid Ahmed, Maqsood Ahmed, MA Saeed and Fazal-e-Aleem claimed to be the author of the paper. The institute has said that it was 80 percent plagiarised while the details were basically stolen and combined from four other sources, which the institute has also cited in its documents. “Current Status of Exotic Hadrons�, which MA Saeed, Maqsood Ahmed and Fazal-e-Aleem claimed to have written, was stolen from three different sources and was 90 percent plagiarised, according to the AIP. The institute has cited the original sources of the article in their documents. The third article that the AIP has retracted was named “Paths of Elementary Particles on K-Surfaces� claimed by Muhammad Ayub Faridi, Haris Rashid and Fazal-e-Aleem. The institute has also cited the three original sources of the article from where the details were stolen and combined while concluding that 55 percent of the article was plagiarised.
To see the article retractions now on the AIP website go here, here and here.
Surprisingly, this new news report (14 December) ends by saying:
The Punjab University has also formed an investigation committee to probe the matter. The committee has not completed its investigation so far.
When will the investigation end. And how much proof do they need. I realize that some of the younger scholars listed here might just not have known, but the senior ones - especially the Director of the institute - had to; and if he did not, that is itself deplorable.
The irony of having so recently discussed the life, work and indignity inflicted on Dr. Abdus Salam and now finding most of the faculty of this center for high energy physics revealed as liars and cheats is not lost on us.
I had ended the original post by saying that “Plagiarism is a serious academic problem all over the world, including in the West. It is becoming particularly serious in Pakistan because:”
- the internet makes stealing easier; although, plagiarists beware, it also makes catching plagiarism earlier;
- newer and higher incentives to steal because the Higher Education Commission (HEC) rewards publication (thankfully, the HEC seems to be aware of this and has a ‘zero tolerance policy.’); and
- in at least some cases researchers may never have been taught how to distinguish right from wrong; the difference between research that builds on other’s ideas (by referencing) and plagiarism that steams from others (by taking credit for other’s ideas).
Even as, elsewhere on this blog, we quibble about whether ‘our’ univeristy was placed high enough in the HEC univeristy rankings or not, I am more worried about the overall state (i.e., lack) of intellectual morality in society.
Despite the excuses we make to ourselves as students or as scholars, there is no ambiguity at all about what plagiarism is. It is clear and simple. Taking someone else’s ideas and presenting them as if they were your own is not just wrong, its illegal. The rules of what is and is not plagiarism are straight-forward and known.
More and more, I also worry - like Darwaish who has been thinking about student cheating - that just like too many of us no longer consider rishwat (bribery) to be ‘real corruption’, too many of us also do not consider cheating and plagiarism to be crimes. Well, I have information for you. They are!
It’s GCU this time.
Dawn reports:
The Government College University’s economics department chairman has been removed after he is found guilty of plagiarism, it is learnt. The administration has also withdrawn Prof Dr Qais Aslam’s services under the Tenure Track System. Prof Sheikh Salahuddin has replaced him.
Sources told Dawn that Prof Qais Aslam had copied excerpts from the book of an Indian Nobel laureate, AK Sen, and the publications of the World Bank in one of his articles bearing his name as the author.
They said someone from the Islamic International University, Islamabad, had complained to the Higher Education Commission about alleged plagiarism by Prof Qais. The HEC then asked the GCU administration to investigate the matter, which constituted an inquiry committee in this respect. The committee found him guilty and recommended action against him, sources said.
“We have taken prompt action against Mr Qais as the GCU has zero tolerance against plagiarism. Unlike other universities of the country which are trying hard to save their plagiarists, the GCU has refused any help to the guilty,� a senior GCU official told this reporter on the request of anonymity.
He said action against Mr Qais served as a strong message to other academics of the varsity to refrain from such activities.
–
http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/19/nat27.htm
Dear Amjad, it pains me to hear this since UET is my alma matter. I think the right course of action is what Ikramullah suggests, you shoudl report this to the Higher Education Commission. They have the mandate to deal with this properly and after proper investigations.
Have you reported it to the authorities. To the VC and to HEC. That seems to be the right thing to do.
Dear Adil Najam. I want to report another case of even more serious and more blatant plagiarism..this time at UET. I have all the documentary proof. THe matter was reported to HEC and it did launch a formal inquiry..but now the UET adminsitration seems to hushing up the matter. Elsevier, one of the major publishig house has already cancelled the plagiarist author paper. THe original authors have been in formed. The plagiarist author(Muhammad Shoaib) has already spent Rs 1.8 million of HEC funds on cheating others intellectual work. Now UET is planning to send him for post doc on a Rs. 6 million scholarship for a post doc.How can I make this issue heard by the HEC? In next couple of days I am sending hard evidence to HEC along with my correspondance with Elsevier and original authors. Should I host all the evidence on some website and give the link on this blog? help me in this good cause of exposing the cheats and pluderers of public money
shayad kisi dana nay aisy moqay kay liye kaha hai ki “taras khow us qoum par jis kay mudabir loomrian ban jiyan, jis kay falsafi baazigar hoon aur jin ka art peevand kari aur naqalai hoo”
By way of update on this case, from Daily Times (Dec. 16):
I am very glad and surprised.Glad in this that you are doing a great job that u uncover the ugly faces masked with beautiful.and suprised that we have being cheated by black sheeps for a long times a I am not critic but respect those who are not on plushy jobs but who teaches new commers to do good and hate with bad.I hope with the help of you and those goods who are our back we will be thegreat and educted nation who can differentiate in good and bad.
We and nation thanks to you on your wonderfull efforts.
Once i was talking with an uncle of mine whos an BS in agri science he told me “our educated class is more corrupt” and i realise its true.We think first fer our own pockets and then national interst.so we can see countries plight.I am doctor an living in US,i studied in pakistan but when we graduated what we got was Rs 3520/- in house job (year 2002) then they raised it to 6200/- imagine a MBBS gettin 6200/- what to expect?what do u think he will serve honestly ?never he cant cause hes forced to do private practise unfair means as he has to support a family!same is for engineers but they get a little better deal!now after House Job u have nothing!people say y dun the doc go to vilages reason is what u give ur brightest lot? an u expect them to work in villages?My friends that went to PMA are now Captains/Majors and they are just BSc or BA and they get all the benifits even telefone bills messes and a salary of abt 13000 Rs fer a captain!double the amount of a professional with benifits!im not saying they shunt be paid but wats the fault of the doctor/engg a lecturer,a teacher? thats the reason docs and enggs are leaving the country, an i did too!i think i ran away from the problem!but as Prof Hasnat said whole system needs overhauling.an system head in who an A{ngel}RMY CHIEF!the education director in rawalpindi,my uncle told is a brigadier from artillary!!!they were not able to get one retired professor fer the post!its an omnious sign fer a failed nation yet we equate our selves with india!military has ruined pakistan with the capable help of our buroecrates an the politicians were mere puppets just waiting fer their time to fill their pockets!
I into reasearch in here as well and plagiarism is present here too but to level that can be “attay mien namak” rest every things scrutinsed a research papers evaluated thoroughly!but in our parts from top till bottom we are plagiarsed!i dint find any thing shocking in Prof Hasnat last paragragh that no matter wat u do u cant eradicate them and its true!our nations first ever fault was that we never paid our professionals to what they deserved an soon they left!and that was wat army an system wanted they made us look corrupt and we fell into their trap(sorry to say i take the blame)we shud have stayed there and fought them how many bhuttos cud they have hanged,out of us someone might have saved us!
Nothing new in this topic just its in lime light!In our medical colleges research is done by professors thats all plagiarsed evcen in engg colleges!
My father who was a prisoner of war in 1971 and its 16 Dec today said that he thought that we will learn by 1971 but we didnt!Alas!!!