KU left in limbo as VC heads abroad
Karachi University. PHOTO: http://www.uok.edu.pk/
Pakistan's largest public-sector university by enrolment, the University of Karachi, is once again set to be run on an interim basis, with its acting head leaving for a 20-day foreign trip just as admissions and entry tests for the 2027 academic session get under way.
Pharmacy Dean Prof Dr Haris Shoaib has been assigned charge of the university's day-to-day affairs as NED University Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Tufail Ahmed, who has also been given charge of Karachi University, leaves for academic visits to the United States, Canada and Sri Lanka.
Sources in the Karachi University Registrar's Office said the NOC for Dr Tufail's foreign visits had been issued. At NED University, Pro Vice Chancellor Dr Noman Ahmed has been given temporary charge during his absence.
Dr Tufail was handed additional charge of Karachi University in the last week of July. Sources said his latest foreign visit would be his second overseas academic trip in roughly two months, leaving the 46,000-student university once again without a full-time or acting vice chancellor.
The development comes as the Sindh government has yet to appoint a permanent vice chancellor for the university. Sources said a summary containing three candidates for the permanent post had already reached the Chief Minister's House, but no further progress had been made.
The leadership vacuum comes at a particularly crucial time for the university. Admissions for the 2027 academic session have already begun, with thousands of candidates scheduled to appear in entry tests for various disciplines on October 11. Open-merit admissions are also due to begin the same day.
With Dr Tufail abroad, routine administrative affairs will effectively be handled by a senior dean rather than a vice chancellor during this important phase of the admissions cycle.
Entry tests are among the university's major annual academic events, typically requiring senior leadership to oversee arrangements and proceedings, making the absence of a vice chancellor particularly notable at a time when thousands of prospective students are expected to participate.