LAHORE: Professor Dr. Noshina Saleem, Director of the School of Communication Studies at the University of Punjab, has been issued a legal notice by Muhammad Sharif, a gold medalist from the prestigious Institute of Communication Studies at the University. The notice, dated May 29, 2024, alleges professional misconduct on the part of Dr. Saleem, which purportedly led to the rejection of Sharif’s application for the McCall MacBain Scholarship at McGill University in Canada, The Scoop (TS) has learnt.
According to the legal notice, the copy of which is available with TS, Sharif applied for the McCall MacBain Scholarship in August 2023. This scholarship required an endorsement from the Director of the School of Communication Studies. On August 23, 2023, Sharif approached Dr. Saleem via email, seeking her endorsement for the scholarship. The notice claims that Dr. Saleem mistreated Sharif and failed to respond to the email sent by the scholarship committee to her official email address ([email protected]).
The situation further deteriorated when, on August 28, 2023, Sharif was informed by Dr. Saleem’s personal assistant that the link for endorsement had expired due to the delayed response. This miscommunication and lack of timely action reportedly resulted in the denial of the scholarship to Sharif.
The McCall MacBain Scholarship is a prestigious award that includes a one-time relocation grant to move to Canada, a monthly stipend of 2,000 CAD for the duration of the degree program (minimum one year), full tuition fee coverage of approximately 10,633 CAD, and expenses for a flight ticket amounting to 2,447 CAD. The total financial impact of this scholarship was estimated to be around 37,080 CAD (approximately PKR 7,578,262).
The legal notice demands that Dr. Saleem issue an official apology to Sharif and compensate him for all the aforementioned expenses, totaling 37,080 CAD. The notice serves as a final warning, stipulating that failure to settle the matter within 15 days of receipt will result in legal action.
Despite multiple attempts, The Scoop (TS) was unable to obtain a response from Professor Dr. Noshina Saleem. She has not replied to our WhatsApp message as of the time this report was filed.
WhatsApp message Sent to Dr. Noshina Saleem
Dear Dr. Noshina Saleem,
I hope this message finds you well. This is Hassan Naqvi from The Scoop. We are preparing a report regarding a legal notice sent to you by Muhammad Sharif, a gold medalist from the Institute of Communication Studies, University of Punjab. He alleges professional misconduct on your part that led to his McCall MacBain Scholarship application being rejected.
In the interest of fairness and accuracy, we would like to include your side of the story in our report. Could you please provide your response to the following questions at your earliest convenience?
- Could you confirm whether you received Muhammad Sharif’s request for an endorsement for the McCall MacBain Scholarship on August 23, 2023?
- What was the nature of your interaction with Muhammad Sharif regarding his endorsement request?
- Did you or your office respond to the scholarship committee’s email requesting your endorsement? If so, what was the response?
- What are your comments on the allegations of mistreatment and misbehavior mentioned in the legal notice?
- Can you provide any details on the communication between your office and Muhammad Sharif, particularly the claim that the endorsement link expired due to a delayed response?
- How do you plan to address the demand for an apology and compensation outlined in the legal notice?
Your response is crucial for a balanced report. Please let us know if there are any additional details or context you would like to share.
Thank you for your time and cooperation.
Best regards,
Hassan Naqvi
The Scoop
