Headless commission: Court orders govt to appoint HEC chairman by Feb 12

The post has been vacant for six months.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court on Monday ordered the government to appoint a permanent chief of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) by February 12.

When the hearing commenced in the court of Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Education and Training Joint Secretary Tariq Nawaz requested the court to grant more time.

He told the court that the ministry had forwarded a summary on September 24 last year to prime minister which was yet to be signed.

However, Umar Hanif Khichi, counsel for the petitioner Dr Attaur Rahman, told the court that the federal government is bound to appoint a new chairman within 90 days of the post falling vacant. “The office has been vacant for the last four months which has been affecting the affairs of the sole higher education authority,” he said.

The court observed that the issue was of vital importance and should be resolved soon.

The petition was filed on December 30, 2013 by former HEC chairman Dr Rahman, who claimed that the delay in the appointment of the chairman was affecting higher education in the country. He said the appointment of HEC board members was being delayed in the absence of a chairman as the acting chairman is not authorised to do the job. According to the HEC Ordinance 2002, the commission must meet at least twice every financial year, but it did not meet even once in the last six months.

The delay in the chairman’s appointment is affecting the affairs of 150 universities, 258 campuses 1.2 million students 32,000 faculty members including 7,600 PhD faculty and administrative staff of over 0.1 million across the country. The absence of a chairman will deprive the commission of Tertiary Education Support Programme worth $300 million approved on March 24, 2011. The government’s unresponsiveness will also deprive the HEC of USAID support for Centre for Excellence in Water and Agriculture worth $250 million, the petition stated. The principal secretary to the prime minister and the Standards in Higher Education secretary were made respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2014.