Varsity heads appointment: Secretariat siege hampers process

Selection body shortlists nine names for appointment of three federal universities’ heads.

ISLAMABAD:

The ongoing siege of the Pakistan Secretariat by protesters has delayed the process of appointment of three federal universities’ heads.

A search committee has finalised nine names after interviewing some 30 candidates last week. The committee was to forward the names to President Mamnoon Hussain, who is also the chancellor of the federal universities for appointment of three heads.

The ongoing protests by Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the Constitution Avenue, however, delayed the dispatch.

The seven-member panel was tasked with interviewing candidates for vice-chancellors for Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) and Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) and a rector for the International Islamic University (IIUI). The interviews were held on August 28-30 at the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.

“The interviews were completed on Saturday and the summary was supposed to be forwarded to the president on Monday. But blockade of the secretariat by the protesters has hampered the process,” a ministry official told The Express Tribune on Tuesday.

The panel in its second last meeting set 75 marks for each candidates and shortlisted the candidates after examining their academic and administrative experiences, achievements and other professional credentials.

Call letters for interview were dispatched to 30 candidates shortlisted from among 369 applicants.

The committee held three meetings last month at the ministry to shortlist candidates and set the interview criterion.

The search committee is headed by Federal Education Minister Balighur Rehman and comprises the education secretary, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmad, former federal secretary Dr U.A.G Issani, former State Bank governor and economist Dr Ishrat Hussain, Comsats Rector Junaid Zaidi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission member Dr Sara Safdar. Hussain did not attend the interviews session.

The official said that the summary will be dispatched to the president as soon as the protesters end the blockade.

Several members included in the process of interview, when contacted, refused to share the names of the shortlisted candidates.

The appointment of heads of three varsities has been pending for more than six months.

Earlier, the HEC had shortlisted candidates before the selection process was shifted to the ministry and started afresh.

Former Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) vice-chancellor Dr Masoom Yasinzai was appointed IIUI acting rector in February. Yasinzai had been holding the additional charge of IIUI rector for the last two years.

Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Nazir Ahmed Sangi retired in March 2014 and Dr Asghar Ali Chishti has been given the acting charge of Vice-Chancellor ever since.

Similarly, senior QAU faculty member Dr Etizaz Ahmad has been filling in VC slot on acting charge since Yasinzai retired in February.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2014.