VC's dilemma: DUHS finally gets a vice-chancellor

The Governor House issued a notification, appointing Dr Noshad A Shaikh for four years

KARACHI: The tug-of-war for the post of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) vice-chancellor (VC) ended on Tuesday when Governor House, Sindh, issued a notification stating that the governor was pleased to appoint Prof Dr Noshad A Shaikh as the VC of the varsity.

The war for the post started after the former VC of the varsity, Professor Masood Hameed Khan, completed his tenure on September 15 and the government invited applications for the post.

Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan, appointed Prof Dr Umar Farooq as the acting VC of DUHS on September 17. Soon after, Dr Farooq was replaced by Karachi University VC Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser for two days.





Around 12 candidates applied for the post. The university's search committee interviewed all the candidates and shortlisted three. The search committee recommended Dr Saeed Qureshi as the top candidate for the post.

The three names sent to the chief minister by the search committee included those of Dr Qureshi, Dr Sheikh and Dr Farooq. "CM Sindh selected Dr Qureshi's name as per merit as he was the top candidate for the post," the general secretary of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, told The Express Tribune. The chief minister moved a summary to the governor, recommending Dr Qureshi's name for the post, but the governor appointed Dr Sheikh as the VC of DUHS. The decision to appoint Dr Sheikh as VC was controversial as he was on the second number of the merit list of the search committee.

Taking the issue to court against the unlawful appointment of Dr Shaikh, PMA) challenged the decision of his appointment by the governor in court. The court suspended him from the VC's post on October 8 till October 13. "If the governor had any issue with the orders to appoint Dr Qureshi, he should have sent the summary back to the CM for reconsideration," said Azhar, explaining the procedure. He added that only the CM has the authority to appoint the VC and not the governor.

Dr Sheikh, who is also the VC of Liaquat University of Medical And Health Sciences (LUMHS), took charge as the VC of DUHS on Tuesday. His appointment is the fourth variation for the VC's seat of DUHS since September 15. When contacted, Dr Shaikh was not available for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2015.