25 K-P varsities await appointment of VCs

Differences between two political figures stall recruitment process

PESHAWAR:

Political differences between two high-ranking political personalities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have stalled the appointments of vice chancellors at 25 public universities, further complicating an already difficult situation.

The vacancies for vice chancellors at these universities have been vacant for a long time, affecting the educational system and administrative affairs at these institutions.

Various serious issues are emerging at these universities every day without inviting any attention from the quarters concerned.

The previous caretaker set-up in the province, which lasted for 13 months, had spent most of its time conducting interviews and then postponing the appointments.

In its final days, the caretaker set-up had prepared a list of potential vice chancellors but left the decision to the newly elected government.

However, the new government has raised objections to the list and decided to conduct new interviews.

The matter has been pending since then and, despite a high-ranking personality writing a letter to another high-up to resolve the issue on an immediate basis, no effort has been made to address it. As a result, the appointments of vice chancellors at 25 universities have been pending due to political differences.

It may be recalled that almost 99 per cent of the public sector universities in the province have been in the grip of a severe financial crisis.

In January this year, the then K-P governor Haji Ghulam Ali, while chairing a senate meeting of the University of Swabi (UoS), had directed universities to maintain financial discipline keeping in view the limited resources of the province.

The senate meeting was also attended by UoS Vice Chancellor Nasir Jamal and concerned officials of education, establishment, finance and the Higher Education Commission.

The Governor said that the provincial government was paying Rs56 billion annually in lieu of salaries and stressed that universities should explore new ways to overcome financial difficulties and improve their performance.

He suggested that varsities should devise new plans to improve administrative, educational and financial affairs. The Governor also highlighted the need for research-based education and said that it would help improve capacity-building of students and prepare them to meet challenges of the emerging world.

The meeting also discussed amendments in universities’ statutes 2016-17, financial resource development plan 2023 and annual performance report of the varsity while the matter relating to age relaxation was referred to Standing Committee for Higher Education Department.

Despite the enormous significance of higher education in the country’s socioeconomic development, the majority of public sector universities in K-P are currently facing a financial crisis which is adversely affecting the process of learning and research studies besides negatively impacting students’ enrolment in MS, MPhil, and PhD programmes in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 6^th, 2024.