Another term for CIIT rector on cards

Ordinance will pave way for the institute to get university status

ISLAMABAD: With the promulgation of the new ordinance, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) is all set to reappoint Junaid Zaidi as the rector of the Comsats Institute of Information Technology (CIIT) despite opposition from varsities’ board of governors.

Zaidi is the Founder Rector of the CIIT and has been heading it since 2000. The new ordinance will pave the way for the institute to get the university status and degree-awarding institute.



Since the Minister of the Science and Technology is the chancellor of the institute, hence it falls under the MoST. However, the role played by the ministry in the promulgation of the ordinance, which will be discussed in the Senate standing committee on science and technology next week, has dismayed many.



One of the provisions of the ordinance states: “The incumbent rector of the CIIT shall be the first rector of the university.”

The provision is against the language and conditions of the ordinance which the board of governors of the CIIT and the Higher Education Commission had passed and vetted.

One of the members of the board of governors, who is also from the varsity, stated that the provision was tantamount to bypassing the two stakeholders. “This is unfair on the part of whosoever did this,” he added.

Till now the rector had been appointed for four years tenure; however, the new ordinance has fixed it for five years.

Interestingly, during a meeting of the BoG last year, a special committee did not approve giving another extension [to the rector] and decided that “there would be no more extensions for the current rector, and every other selection will be carried out through a selection committee”.

However, Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer extended his [Zaidi’s] tenure till March 2017.

Interestingly, the MoST secretary, who was the chairperson of the selection board, had favoured giving the rector extension through the ordinance.



Zaidi’s era witnessed the dual degree fiasco which is still being heard in the Lahore High Court. The removal of its pro-rector Haroon Rashid was another blow to the institute.

The CIIT now has eight campuses in seven cities, with a student population of more than 35,000 and faculty base of 2,887. In addition to Information Technology, the institute offers several bachelor, master and doctoral programmes in engineering, basic sciences, management sciences and architecture.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2017.