University professor fired for shocking quiz question about incest

A teacher at a university in Pakistan has been fired and black-listed after posing an exam question about incest to his electrical engineering students.

A teacher at a university in Pakistan has been fired and black-listed after posing a question about incest to his electrical engineering students in an exam.

As reported by the New York Post, Professor Khair ul Bashar of Comsats University in Islamabad was “terminated” on January 5, after giving the English Comprehension & Composition exam a month earlier, on December 4 and 5, to his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering students.

“Julie and Mark are brother and sister. They are travelling together in France on summer vacation from college,” the question read.

“One night they are staying alone in a cabin near the beach. They decided that it would be interesting and fun if they tried making love. At the very least, it would be a new experience for each of them.”

Professor Khair ul Bashar was fired and black-listed after posing a question about incest. Picture: Jam Press

The question prompted uproar from both students and staff leading to Bashar being fired from the university. Picture: Jam Press

The prompt goes on to say that Julie was on birth control and Mark used a condom, and that they both enjoyed being intimate together – although they vowed never to do it again.

“What do you think about that? Was it OK for them to make love?” posed the teacher.

“Give reasons for your answers and include some relevant examples from your own knowledge and personal opinion.”

“The content of the quiz is highly objectionable and totally against the curriculum laws of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and caused unrest amongst the families of the students,” a letter from a university official read.

According to Professor ul Bashar, the answer had to be 300 words and include “four paragraphs which include an introduction, body and conclusion”.

‘The content of the quiz is highly objectionable and totally against the curriculum laws … and caused unrest amongst the families of the students.’ Picture: Jam Press

The controversial question was first posed in 2000 by University of Virginia Professor Jonathan Haidt during a study on whether moral judgments were based on “reason, or on intuition and emotion”.

The question prompted uproar from both students as well as academics outside Comsats University.

“COMSATS: Whatever is the outcome of this inquiry, the individual who tried to peddle this idea of incest with in students must be apprehended & made an example for the academic fraternity,” one outraged Twitter user wrote.

“Not only that particular individual but all those who processed this quiz & approved it.”

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission