Law violation?: HEC mulls regularisation of MP-scale officials

Decisions must first be approved by a three-member government committee.

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is mulling the regularisation of five management pay (MP) scale officers without the proper approval.

Sources in the HEC informed The Express Tribune that its chairman, Javaid Leghari, had decided to give extensions in service to five MP scale officers, namely Monitoring Adviser Jaleel Ahmed and Quality Assurance Managing Director Khawaja Azam Ali in MP-2, Learning and Innovation Director General Noor Amina Malik and Quality Assurance DG Zia Batool in MP-3, and Information Technology DG Anwar Amjad.

The HEC’s external audit team has raised objections over the MP scale appointments.

Under the rules, all extensions and appointments on MP scales and are to be decided by a three-member committee comprising the Finance, Science and Technology, and Education and Training secretaries.

Leghari faced strong opposition from employees last November when former HEC Executive Director Sohail Naqvi was granted an extension for the third time without approval from the prime minister.



However, the Supreme Court intervened and issued directives to the HEC, leading to the appointment of Dr Mukhtar as the new executive director on January 20, 2013.

An HEC source claimed the commission had offered the role of vice-chancellor to Dr Mukhtar to avoid the ongoing controversy in appointment on MP scales.

“The role advertised was for MP scale, but he is receiving the package of a vice-chancellor, which indicated that the HEC is trying to avoid a repeat,” the source said.

Leghari said he had not signed the order on Dr Mukhtar’s appointment because the latter was initially offered a different role.

“Why should he be offered a different package when the original one was advertised in MP scale,” he said.

Leghari said he would be taking up the matter in the commission’s next meeting.

“Our stand is very clear — the PM can disagree with a decision made by the commission or the selection committee, but he cannot reverse or cancel the decision,” said HEC Member Dr Nasser Ali Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2013.