Coveted slot: Dr Niaz Ahmed Akhtar takes charge as PU’s new VC today

Shehbaz finalised the successful candidates on the last day of <br /> his tenure

LAHORE: Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar will take charge as the 48th vice chancellor of the Punjab University (PU) on Monday (today) following a permanent appointment for the position was made after more than two years lapse.

A notification to this effect has been issued by the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) late on Saturday, which confirmed the appointment of Dr Akhtar as the new vice chancellor of the varsity.

Dr Akhtar has been a recipient of Sitara-e-Imtiaz and was serving as the vice chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila. Previously, he has served as the rector of the National Textile University, Faisalabad and was also the Director of the Institute of Quality and Technology Management at the Punjab University. Dr Akhtar holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Leeds, UK. According to the notification issued by the HED after the approval of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, he has been appointed as the vice chancellor of the Punjab University for a period of four years. The appointment was made when the SC asked the officials of the Punjab government to submit the summary to the court after it was informed that a candidate had been selected and a notification would be issued after the approval of the governor.

The Punjab government, under Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif, made the decision on the very last day of his tenure after he held a quick round of interviews of three shortlisted candidates by the search committee. The three shortlisted candidates included University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila Vice Chancellor Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar, Punjab University Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences Dean and formal provisional vice chancellor Dr Zakria Zakar and Punjab University College of Information Technology (PUCIT) Principal Dr Syed Mansoor Sarwar.

Dr Akhtar was selected by Shehbaz and a summary for his appointment was moved to the governor, however, the HED did not issue confirmation of his appointment as the governor had not signed the summary. The HED had now notified the appointment after the approval of the Supreme Court and Dr Akhtar would take charge of his office today.

The appointment at the largest university of the province has been a thorn in the side of the Punjab government as it had been unable to finalise a permanent vice chancellor since 2015. After the end of the tenure of Dr Mujahid Kamran at the end of 2015, four provisional and acting vice chancellors had held the office including Dr Kamran himself.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2018.