HED extends date to apply for position of ITU VC

Floats new advertisement, extending date till June 20

LAHORE: After getting a negligible response from academics, the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) has extended the last date to apply for the post of Information Technology University (ITU) vice-chancellor by more than half a month.

A new advertisement has been floated by the HED, extending the date to June 20. In the earlier advertisement, the last date was set as June 3.

According to sources, only five academics applied for the vice chancellor's slot at ITU, including its founding vice-chancellor Dr Umar Saif. They added only three names were shortlisted by the search committee.

The search committee held its first meeting on June 7 when the low turnout of candidates came under discussion. The meeting deliberated over the poor response by academics for the position at ITU.

"In the very first meeting of the search committee, it was decided that more time should be given for candidates to apply for the post," the sources said.



The committee decided that the date to apply for the position would be extended.

The search committee for ITU comprised Dr Amjad Saqib as its convener, while Dr Amjad Hussain, Dr Javed Ghani, Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi were members. The HED secretary, along with being a member, also performs the duties of the secretary of the committee.

After the decision, the HED issued an advertisement announcing the same.

According to the advertisement, academics interested in the post could apply themselves or their names could be nominated by scholars or academics.

Members of the search committee could also nominate candidates for the position.

ITU is in a similar situation to other universities of the province where the Punjab government failed to appoint vice chancellors for years.

The post of vice chancellor for ITU has been vacant since January 2017 and Dr Umar Saif, who is also the founding vice chancellor, has been serving as an acting head since.

HED advertised the post of the vice-chancellor on the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on May 20 with June 3 set as the last date for application.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2018.