A photo of KIng Edward Medical University. PHOTO: IJAZ MAHMOOD/EXPRESS
LAHORE:
The search committee for the selection of vice chancellors has recommended the appointment of Prof Faisal Masud to King Edward Medical University (KEMU) and Prof Aslam Khan to the University of Health Sciences (UHS), The Express Tribune has learnt.
The search committee had earlier sent two panels of three names each to the chief minister, leaving it up to him to select one from each panel to head the universities. But two of the candidates recommended for the UHS – Prof Masud and Prof Javed Akram – had applied for both universities, and the chief minister asked the committee to include them in both panels and re-send the recommendations, said a senior official at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
Two names were then dropped from the KEMU panel to include Profs Masud and Akram, and the recommendations sent to the chief minister. He then asked the search committee to choose one name from each panel and send a summary to him.
“The search committee finally picked Prof Masud as KEMU vice chancellor and Major General (retired) Prof Aslam Khan as UHS vice chancellor. The summary has been sent to the CM and now it’s his discretion when he approves these two names and forwards them to the governor so that a final notification of their appointment can be issued,” said the official.
Both of the selected candidates have experience in administrative posts. Prof Masud has been serving as principal of the Services Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS) for several years. Prof Khan, who holds a PhD in physiology from the University of London, has served as principal of the Army Medical College and is currently vice chancellor of a private university in Islamabad.
The search committee’s initial selection of six candidates ranked them in the following order of merit: Prof Faisal Masud, former Allama Iqbal Medical College principal Prof Javed Akram, Prof Khan, former Fatima Jinnah Medical College principal Prof Majeed Chaudhry, Prof Sarwat Hussain and Prof Jawad Sajid. The first three were recommended as candidates to head the UHS, since it is the larger of the two public medical universities in the province.
Another official said that Prof Akram, who was not selected for either university despite being ranked the number two candidate initially, was likely to be appointed principal of SIMS once Prof Masud moves to the KEMU.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Health and member Search Committee Khawaja Salman Rafique, a member of the search committee and the chief minister’s special assistant on health, confirmed that both panels included Profs Masud and Akram, but denied that a summary recommending one candidate for each university had been sent to the chief minister.
“There are three names for KEMU which include Prof Javed Akram, Prof Faisal Masud and Prof Sarwat Hussain.
For the UHS, the names are Prof Akram, Prof Masud and Prof Aslam Khan. The chief minister can select from these panels,” he said.
The search committee also included Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Pro Vice Chancellor Syed Babar Ali, former AIMC principal Prof SAR Gardezi, former chief secretary Pervaiz Masood and former finance minister Sartaj Aziz.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 8th, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ