University provost refutes allegations of favoritism

Abdulaziz Al-Ruwaili TABUK — The provost of Tabuk University refuted accusations of committing nepotism by employing his allegedly unqualified relative as an instructor in the university. Tabuk University Provost for Higher Education and Scientific Research Dr. Uwaidh Al-Atawi said he was accused by parents of other applicants for the position that he had hired an unqualified candidate as an instructor at the College of Social Sciences because she is his relative. “The parents have submitted a formal proposal of their accusation to the university and had supporting documents of how unqualified the candidate was. They claimed that there were two qualified candidates for the job and the candidate in question was chosen unfairly because she is related to me,” said Al-Atawi. He also said the decision the university took to hire the candidate in question and the process of hiring her is confidential to the university. “This is not a matter for public debate and the media has no right to ask any questions regarding the hiring process at the university. The candidate was hired not because she was related to me, but because she was qualified. My approval of her recruitment was not biased,” said Al-Atawi. He also said anyone who has any objections on the decision the university made can lodge their complaints through the appropriate authorities. One parent said his daughter was more qualified than the hired candidate as his daughter was among the top two candidates nominated for the job. “The hired candidate is not as qualified as my daughter. Her scores are lower and she came third in the nomination list while my daughter came second. Are we still in the age where nepotism is tolerable? My daughter worked hard to earn that position and all of her hard work is simply swept away by nepotism and favoritism,” said the parent, identified only by his initials M.S. Dean of the College of Social Sciences at Tabuk University said he sent a letter to the administration of the university, demanding to know why the candidate was hired if there was someone more qualified. “The college is in need of instructors and staff members. If there was a more capable candidate for the position, why did the administration not hire her. The college is in need of more instructors. The administration should have communicated with the college to understand our needs,” said the dean.