Universities act: SU hires registrar, directors without CM’s approval

Varsity insists appointments were made before the new law was passed.

HYDERABAD: The University of Sindh (SU) has appointed a registrar and a few directors through a syndicate meeting even though the power lies with the chief minister now.

After the amendment to the universities bill, the power to appoint officials has been transferred from the chancellor to the chief minister. The act has seized the syndicate’s prerogative to hire registrar, directors, chief accountants and some other administrative officers down to grade BPS-16.

Nevertheless, the 186th meeting of the varsity’s syndicate on Sunday gave approval for the appointments of a registrar in grade BPS-20 and the directors of its Pakistan Studies Centre and Area Studies Centre in grade BPS-20, among other positions. For its part, the university officials insisted they have not infringed the law. “All these appointments were made by the selection board’s 157th meeting on July 25, before the new law was passed,” said the varsity spokesperson, Nadir Mugheri. “The board recommended jobs against these posts while the syndicate gave the approval.”

Overall, the posts of seven BPS-21 professors, six BPS-20 associate professors, two BPS-20 directors, 11 BPS-19 assistant professors, 11 BPS-18 lecturers and 15 administrative officers from BPS-20 to BPS-16 were sanctioned. The offer letters will be issued after the syndicate members sign minutes of the 186th meeting. The process, the spokesperson said, will take at least 10 to 12 days.

The SU Teachers Association (Suta), which objected to the provisions of the law on these appointments, acknowledged that the hiring seems illegal. “After the passage of the act, the syndicate is not authorised to fill these vacancies,” claimed Suta president Dr Arfana Mallah.

However, she reiterated that the teachers associations’ in all the universities are unanimous in opposing this intervention of the provincial government in appointment matters. “We want maximum, if not complete, autonomy of the universities,” she said. “The new law should be amended to give syndicate all these powers.”

On the other hand, the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association supported the SU for allowing its syndicate to assert its authority. “If the syndicate has broken the law, then the same is done in the appointments of the vice-chancellors by the chancellor,” said the association’s provincial general secretary, Dr Ahsan Memon. The association will vigorously pursue the demand for making amendment in the new law to seek maximum autonomy for the varsities, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2013.