NA question hour: 17 universities working without permanent heads

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Monday that 17 public sector universities have long been functioning without permanent vice-chancellors, showing the government’s disinterest towards higher education.

In a written reply submitted before the lower house, Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Muhammad Baligh Ur Rehman said of the 17 universities, eight are in Punjab, four in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, three in Sindh and one each in the federal capital and AJK.

The reply further said that the Punjab University Lahore, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, the Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan are being run by acting vice-chancellors while the University of Sargodha was headed by a pro-VC. Mian Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering and Technology, Multan, and the University of Sahiwal are without a permanent head for a long time.

Moreover, the issue of appointment of vice-chancellor of the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Karachi was in the court. In addition, the University of Poonch, Rawalakot is functioning without a permanent VC since March 2015 because the matter is in court.



In K-P, Kohat University of Science and Technology, University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, University of Swat and Shuhada-e-Army Public School, University of Technology Nowshehra are without VCs.

In Sindh, the matter of appointment of a permanent VC for Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi is in the court while the posts for VCs of University of Karachi, and University of Sindh, Jamshoro will be advertised soon.

Interestingly, every province and region has given the current status of appointment of VCs or heads of universities, but nothing has been shared with the National Assembly about Punjab.

In May, a Senate special oversight committee had expressed grave concern over non-appointment of vice-chancellors of dozens of universities in Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh despite the passage of several years.

Last month, the higher education department had notified the appointment of five vice-chancellors of public sector universities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for a period of three years.

Prof Mohammad Idrees, the director of centre for applied molecular biology, University of Punjab, has been appointed vice-chancellor of Hazara University Mansehra.

Prof Iftikhar Ahmed, chairman of department of physics, University of Malakand, has been appointed vice-chancellor of Abbottabad University of Science and Technology and Prof Ghazala Yasmin of College of Home Economics, University of Peshawar, vice-chancellor of Women University, Mardan.

Prof Khanzadi Fatima Khattak of Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, has been appointed vice-chancellor of Women University, Swabi and Prof Mohammad Sarwar, former dean of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, has been appointed vice-chancellor of Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan.

The higher education department withheld the summary about appointment of Prof Habib Ahmed, the dean of Hazara University, Mansehra as vice-chancellor of Islamia College University, Peshawar after the chancellor’s observation.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2016.