HEC chairman: PM rejects summary

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the summary forwarded for the appointment of the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), expressing displeasure over the names proposed in the case, sources said on Thursday.

The summary has been returned to the Ministry of Federal Education, with indications that the post may now be re-advertised.

According to sources, the prime minister's decision has prolonged uncertainty over the top position at the HEC, which has remained vacant since July 30, 2025, following the completion of the tenure of former chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed.

The development comes as the appointment of a permanent HEC chief has been delayed for an unusually long period, with more than six months having passed since the post fell vacant and the key institution continuing to function on an ad-hoc basis.

Since July 30, 2025, following the completion of former HEC chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed's tenure, the commission has been without a permanent head.

On the same day, Federal Ministry of Education Secretary Naeem Mehboob was assigned additional charge as acting chairman HEC.

Initially, the three-month ad-hoc arrangement was accompanied by assurances that a permanent appointment would be made promptly, particularly after the prime minister constituted a search committee under the leadership of the federal education minister.

Sources said that after the position was advertised, around 750 candidates applied for the post. Initially, efforts were made to select a candidate from abroad.

However, the incentive package on offer did not meet international standards, making it unattractive for foreign academics. As a result, the shortlist was drawn largely from within what sources termed the local "vice chancellors' bureaucracy".

It is pertinent to note that the names forwarded to the prime minister included Dr Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi, vice chancellor of NED University of Engineering and Technology, Dr Niaz Ahmed Akhtar, vice chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University and Dr Muhammad Ali, vice chancellor of the University of the Punjab.

Earlier, education ministry sources said that a "Karachi lobby" was actively pushing for the appointment of Dr Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi.

Meanwhile, education experts have expressed concern that previous HEC leaderships were unable to deliver meaningful policy guidance, stressing that far more work was required on funding mechanisms and long-term policy frameworks for higher education.