The existing senate with three hundred members elected and nominated is too large, and cumbersome, and it is to be replaced by the board of governors consisting of 15 to 20 members nominated from among the panels recommended by nominating committees. It further provides a new office of the deputy chairman to be appointed by the chancellor.

All other members of the senate shall be nominated by the chancellor on the recommendation of the “nominating committee” set up for the purpose or “the Search Committee” on an honorary basis. He shall be an ex-officio member of the senate. He will be a person of eminence possessing experience of administration at a senior level. Thus, the vice-chancellor will be relieved of his excessive burden of routine administration. The deputy chair of the senate may be removed from the office at any time by the chancellor.

Article 20(1) provides for a syndicate of the university consisting of the V-C, the deans of the faculties, three professors who are not members of the senate, principals of the constituent colleges, the registrar, the treasurer, and the controller of examination. All members except ex-officio members shall hold office for three years. The syndicate shall be the executive body of the university, and shall exercise general supervision over the affairs and all matters of management.

The main feature of the syndicate is that it does not provide for elected members from amongst the university teachers. Therefore, the Federation of the Academic Staff Association of the public universities have raised serious objections, and have mounted a nation-wide anti-MUA movement. Perhaps, it may be advisable to call a meeting of the representatives of the university teachers by the chairman of the HEC to discuss with them and ascertain their point of view and try to accommodate their demands as much as possible and desirable.

The MUA further proposes to establish a more compact and cohesive academic council. It replaces the existing large, and unmanageable council. The AC shall consist of the V-C, all deans of the faculties, and such heads of departments as may be recommended, five members representing departments, institutes, and constituent colleges, two principals of the affiliated colleges, five professors, including professors emeritus for three years, the registrar, controller of examination, and the Librarian. The members, except ex-officio members, shall be nominated by the senate on the recommendation of the V-C. As regards the five professors and members representing the departments, institutes and constituent colleges, the V-C may recommend persons proposed by the nominating committee.

Thus, objective criteria have been provided for the selection and nomination of the members of the AC, ensuring merit, as the only criterion and avoiding pressures of group dynamics. The AC shall have extensive powers in all academic matters guaranteeing effectiveness and efficiency in devising rational policies. Thus, there should be no reason for anxiety on the part of the university teachers.

In respect of appointment and removal of the vice-chancellor, the MUA provides altogether a new procedure. The V-C, “an eminent academic or a distinguished administrator” shall be appointed by the chancellor from amongst the persons recommended by the nominating committee or the search committee to be constituted by the senate as prescribed under section 12(2) and (3) of the MUA. According to clause (4), the V-C shall be appointed for a renewable tenure of five years on terms and conditions prescribed by the senate. A more rational provision has been prescribed for the removal of the V-C. For this purpose the senate shall adopt a resolution by three-fourths majority of the total membership recommending to the chancellor the removal of the V-C on the ground of inefficiency, moral turpitude or physical or mental incapacity or gross misconduct involving misuse of position for personal advantage.

It may be noted that according to the existing procedure, the V-C is appointed by the chancellor in his discretion and he “holds office during his pleasure” — a remnant of the British colonial era. However, now before adopting a resolution of removal the VC “shall be given an opportunity of being heard”. In the present context, the proposed procedure is more rational and buttresses the authority and image of the vice-chancellor as the academic and administrative head of the institution.

The MUA further provides for the appointment of full-time registrar, treasurer, and controller of examination for a renewable period of three years by the senate on the recommendation of the vice-chancellor. At present the registrar is appointed from amongst the faculty members for three years. This practice has exposed the office to the vagaries of group dynamics of the faculty, and has deprived the teaching departments of trained and experienced teachers.

At present, the director of finance is nominated by the governor/chancellor, but now renamed as treasurer, he is to be appointed by the senate on the recommendation of the vice-chancellor. These new proposed procedures would go a long way to ensure more efficient and effective management. With these provisions, one may say that the MUA, in enumerating the general powers of the university specifically, provides for prescribing “terms and conditions of employment of the officers, teachers and other employees of the university that may be different from those applicable to government servants in general”.

This provision may go a long way to shake off the complex of inferiority prevailing among university teachers as it stipulates an altogether different set of criteria and proposes to create a separate cadre for university teachers.

Insofar as the salary structure is concerned, a separate structure different from the one prescribed by the government may be designed, ensuring grade-wise, time-scale remuneration, and other lucrative perks may be provided for full professors, associate professors, assistant professors, lecturers, and research officers, and assistant research officers. Special allowances may be provided for research guidance to M.Phil, Ph.D. candidates. The qualification allowance for teachers holding Ph.D. degrees may be continued, and allowance may be enhanced depending on the number of the candidates attached with the Professors. For promotion to the next higher grade, merit determined by the criteria of research output, and course evaluation by the students, must be adhered to strictly.

The selection committees are to be constituted for each discipline consisting of foreign experts, professors of recognized excellence from the panels suggested by the nominating/search committees on the recommendation of the V-C.

The departmental councils should also be constituted for the administrative and academic management of the affairs of the department. These councils may operate as consultative bodies apart from the board of studies, a statutory body for designing syllabi, curricula, and research programmes.

However, the MUA does not suggest measures for ensuring depoliticization and deunionization of the university teachers, students and employees. All associations, societies, and unions of employees with political affiliations should cease to function. However, they may be allowed to operate strictly as merely consultative bodies to assist the administration.

The question of reviving student unions has not been dealt with by the authors of the MUA, and it deserves consideration. The departmental societies may be revived and indirectly elected central union may be reconstituted. For this purpose, proposals may be invited from students and teachers which may be considered at a national conference of all students advisers under the auspices of the Commission on Higher Education. The recommendations of the conference may be examined by a high-powered committee of eminent educationists, and retired and sitting vice-chancellors of all public universities of Pakistan. In the light of the finally approved recommendations, the student unions may be revived by promulgating a separate ordinance which may later be placed before the National Assembly for general discussion and enactment.

The student unions should serve as the nurseries of democratic values, extracurricular activities, and leadership training. A monitoring body may be set up consisting of senior faculty members to provide guidance and counselling to the students, and help them in managing the affairs of the union.

To conclude, it seems unreasonable on the part of the university teachers, students and employees to agitate against the enforcement of the MUA and totally reject it. A more sensible course of action should be to enter into dialogue with the chairman, HEC, with a view to accommodate some of the demands based on sound academic grounds rather than merely rhetorics. Hopefully, a conference of representatives of the university teachers may be called to initiate a dialogue with a view to defusing agitation, and protests.

Concluded

The writer is former vice-chancellor, Karachi University.

AN inscription on the masthead of the New York Times promises readers “all the news that’s fit to print.” What is fit, and what is news? In a classic work entitled, Public Opinion, published some eighty years ago, Walter Lippmann (1889-1974), a renowned American journalist and political thinker, noted that events that were shocking in one way or another — criminal, scandalous, tragic — were generally rated as newsworthy.

If a wife killed her husband, because he had been courting a younger woman next door, her act would merit a headline in the local newspaper. But newsmen would take no notice of the couple that had been living happily, and without blemish, ever since their wedding day. Incompetence, waste, negligence, corruption, deception and infidelity in the public domain — crimes against person and property in the private — make news.

Good news in Pakistan consists more often of official declarations of intent to improve our lives than of reports that projected missions have been accomplished. Once in a while real glad tidings may come from government sources: NAB announced the other day that criminal charges against some of Mr Jamali’s ministers had not been hushed up.

Newsmen become cynical because they tend to focus on happenings in government and politics. During a recent four-week visit to Pakistan, I saw evidence of deprivation among the poor. But I also saw that, despite failures in governance, the country had made strides in modernization during the last five to ten years. These may not have high visibility for the folks living in the country, but they do greet those returning home after a time. Some of them may be recounted here in the hope of reassuring the pessimist that good things can happen, and have indeed happened, in our land; improvement is possible, and it is taking place.

Let us begin with my journey from Lahore to Rawalpindi in a Daewoo bus at a fraction of the corresponding aeroplane fare. It was a most pleasant experience. The interior of the bus was neat, temperature controlled, seats sturdy but comfortable and ready to recline at the push of a button, allowing adequate leg room. The bus left the starting point and reached its destination at the appointed times and, on the way, it stopped at a very well-equipped rest area. The driver was cautious, adhering to the speed limit, went smoothly over sharp turns and heaves without jolting us. Passengers were offered free soft drinks and boxes of snacks (substantial chicken sandwiches and cupcake). The bus had a stewardess — a most unusual feature. A charming young woman, she served passengers with a gracious smile and an apparently genuine interest in making their ride as comfortable as possible. Allow me another moment with her smile. Until recently (and in many homes perhaps even now), girls were taught not to smile to male strangers, for it might be misconstrued as an invitation to unwanted attention. In banks and many other establishments some women workers still prefer to look stern.

It is possible that following the custom in western business houses and other work places, the owners of this bus company have trained both their male and female employees to meet their customers with a pleasant smile. But it may also be a part of a growing new trend and a sign of developing maturity and self-assurance on the part of our women, in which case it is all the more welcome. In this day and age the fear that a smile may be seen as a gesture of solicitation is probably unfounded.

The motorway from Lahore to Rawalpindi is beautiful: three lanes each way, exciting curves as it goes through mountainous terrain, trees on either side, rest areas and restaurants on the way, in sum easily comparable to any good inter-state highway in America. Even though the toll for ordinary cars is modest, the traffic was extremely light which made me wonder and worry how the cost of maintaining this beautiful asset in good repair would be met.

Besides the motorway, a great many new roads with two or three lanes each way, overpasses and underpasses to facilitate the flow of traffic, have been built in Lahore and Karachi. They appear to be in good shape. With the exception of a pothole here and there, even many of the subsidiary roads and side streets in these cities seem to be well paved.

An enormous amount of new construction has been done during the last few years. Block after block of homes in new housing developments, high-rise office buildings and department stores, apartment complexes, unending rows of shops extending close to residential areas, tall and very handsome, almost majestic, public buildings have come up. Houses built on even relatively small plots of land in middle class neighbourhoods contain many more square feet of living space than an average middle class home in America does. Running hot water is common and so are many of the modern appliances and devices that provide comfort and/or entertainment. With all these shops open for business, there must be customers in large enough numbers to sustain them, which in turn means that there are plenty of people with money to spend.

Cellular phones are more expensive to use than the ordinary phones are. Yet, many people in Pakistan carry them. A woman sitting across the aisle from me in the bus to Rawalpindi made half a dozen calls from such a phone. I could not help overhearing her end of the conversation, and it seemed to me that none of her calls was occasioned by a situation that could not wait until after she had reached home a couple of hours later. She had money to burn.

Many more middle class families now have automobiles than did their predecessors. Quite a few of them also own computers. Their children are becoming “computer literate” at a fairly early age. Some of them (I can’t say exactly what proportion) go to private English-medium schools where the tuition fees, to my old-fashioned way of thinking, are staggering. This lifestyle must cost a great deal of money. It is hard to say where that kind of money is coming from, but if it is coming from lawful sources, that too is surely good news.

Even if close to forty per cent of our people are downright poor, many of the remaining sixty per cent seem to have an awful lot of money. Pakistan may be one of those countries where individuals are doing reasonably well but the state is poor. One may wonder if this is anything to lament, considering that the state does little by way of providing needed services to its people.

Bananas in Pakistan do not look inviting, but other fruits and vegetables do; they are delicious and their supply seems to be abundant. Bakery products (bread, cakes, pastries of various description, patties, even crackers) are out of this world. Meat is all right but, just as important, the butcher shops I saw looked clean and safe, and modern in their packing arrangements. The middle classes are eating much better than they did in the old days; their diet richer in protein and vitamins.

In an earlier article I had lamented that voluntarism in Pakistan had a long way to go. A friend in Karachi, who had read this article, corrected me to the effect that philanthropy and contribution of time and effort by various classes of persons, including busy professionals (physicians, psychiatrists, lawyers) were spreading fast in the country. Others said that Pakistanis were more than willing to give if they could be sure that their money would indeed be spent for the professed purposes.

One morning during my stay I heard the tail end of a sermon being delivered in a Punjabi programme on the radio. The preacher appeared to be a layman, not a professional alim. He was urging the merchants, citing the Quran in his support, to exercise moderation in their quest for profit, and not to make shortages an excuse for robbing their customers. He was also calling upon all of us to limit ourselves to legitimate sources of income (“rizq-i-halal”), for it would bring us true happiness and peace of mind. This is a theme much neglected by our professional ulema. It is high time they shifted their gaze from the chastity of women and the alleged perversity of song and dance to the eradication of man’s exploitation of man. The greatest of the good news I have concerns the advance our women are making. Many more of the young women in Pakistan today are noticeably taller and handsomer (probably because they are better fed) than those among their preceding generations. Fearing that this might be an illusion caused by my advancing years and imperfect vision, I checked with friends among local men and women and they confirmed my impression. That is wonderful.

It is well known that our women have been entering the professions, public services, and the world of business in growing numbers. A very large proportion, in some cases the majority, of students on college and university campuses are women. One can see not only good humour but intelligence and self-confidence radiating from their faces. As they become trained and economically independent, they will tend to gain equality with men in various spheres of life. Is this something to worry about? Such women will probably not take nonsense from oppressive husbands, and the divorce rate in our society may go up. That should be an acceptable “side effect” of the development under way. It may be better to terminate an ugly relationship than to live with it in misery for the rest of one’s life.

There is more good news, and I shall be back with it another day.

LAST YEAR an army general was asked to resign one day to take over as president of Azad Kashmir the next day. That may not have violated a law but inevitably caused dismay. Pakistan stands for the right of self-determination for all of the people of Kashmir but here even the free and unsuspecting among them were given no say in choosing a leader of their own.

That episode is behind us, all but forgotten. If that unusual and undemocratic method of selecting a president helped the people of Kashmir or their freedom cause in any manner, it is not apparent on the surface. This much however is known that in the fight that fast ensued between him and the elected prime minister, a Lahore editor had to intervene to broker a truce.

The resignation from the army and instant appointment of General Abdul Qadir as governor of Balochistan the other day, however, has raised more serious questions. The foremost is the constitutional question: Was General Qadir at all eligible for the gubernatorial office?

Through the changing phases of our constitutional history the governors have been appointed on the advice of the prime minister (which was binding) or by the president in his discretion (which is untrammelled).

Article 101 of the 1973 Constitution, as amended by the Legal Framework Order of 2002, now vests this power in the president after consultation (a mere discussion that is not binding) with the prime minister. The conditions of eligibility have also undergone change but not the one which may be invoked to question the appointment of General Qadir: A person is disqualified from holding the office of governor if “he has been in the service of Pakistan — unless a period of two years has elapsed since he ceased to be in such service”. Admittedly, General Qadir was in the service of Pakistan only a day or two before he was sworn in as governor.

The disqualification clause in the Constitution (Article 63-IK) remains untouched even by the LFO. To argue that the president exempted Gen Qadir from its operation would amount to placing the president above the Constitution or conferring in him a power to amend the Constitution later to legalize his actions.

This is, however, a constitutional question which may be left to the lawyers to argue and the courts to decide. The logic of including this disqualification in the Constitution, though obvious, must yet be emphasized. It is to prevent a government servant from using his official position to pave his way for entry into politics.

It can compromise both his neutrality and integrity. It will certainly distract his attention from the job for which he is being paid. Particularly vulnerable would be the judges and military commanders whose duties require total detachment from politics.

What disqualifies a government servant from being appointed a governor also disqualifies him from election to the parliament and, consequently, from becoming a minister. The expectation of extension in service after retirement or getting another tenure job has impaired the independence of the bureaucracy and judiciary a great deal. The lure of finding straightaway a place in politics will only hasten that process.

The government servants who feel an inborn desire to serve the people and also have the resources to back the desire can prove it in the two years’ mandatory pause between the service and politics. Some indeed have made useful contribution to public life, but to use a paid public job as a springboard for entry into politics when the representative institutions are in existence is not just legally incorrect, it is also morally reprehensible.

No government in Pakistan has ever precisely defined the role of the governor in a province or the criteria for his selection. Both have been changing with the regimes and adjusted to the exigencies of the times. The same uncertainty or ambiguity still persists even though elections have been held and the national and provincial assemblies and cabinets have come into being under a new dispensation.

In the previous military regimes and in Ayub Khan’s presidential system the governors were all-powerful chief executives relying for their effectiveness more on the civil services and police than on their ministers.

In a parliamentary system, even with the dents caused by the Legal Framework Order, the governor in performing his functions is required to act in accordance with the advice of the cabinet or the chief minister. The governor may ask for an advice to be reconsidered but he cannot overrule it.

The role of the governor even in the current government, thus, is little more than constitutional and formal. To influence the policy and style of the provincial administration he has to rely on his experience and tact more than his statutory powers and, at the same time, stay above party politics. The selection of the governors thus needs to be made bearing this consideration in mind.

The functions of the governors under the Constitution being the same in each province it is inappropriate to apply different criteria and standards to their selection.

But this is exactly what the present government is doing. Its appointment of governors is dictated more by political exigencies than their suitability for the job and their status which imparts dignity to the office and keeps the administration from going astray.

The governors in Punjab and the NWFP, both retired generals, continue in office though they should have made way for distinguished men from civil life to mark the return of a new, albeit restrained, parliamentary era.

In Balochistan where a weak and vacillating coalition is threatened by tribal feuds turning violent, the corps commander of the area has been appointed governor with all the doubts surrounding the constitutionality of that presidential action.

In Sindh the nominee of a political party became the governor only because without conceding that a government of the desired kind and composition could not be formed. The order of the president and his consultation with the prime minister that followed was a mere formality.

The governor thus chosen naturally brings the full weight of his party into his office. The power and functions of the governor being determined by the circumstances rather than the constitutional provisions does not augur well, either for the stability of the system or for harmony in public life in the long run.

In selecting governors, the present rulers would do well to hark back to the early years of independence which carried the stamp of the Quaid-i-Azam’s vision and wisdom. Without following a set rule, the appointments then made seemed to signify an intention that the governors should influence the administration but without getting embroiled in partisan politics.

That intention showed itself in the appointments of H.I. Rahimtoola and I.I. Chundrigar (both from Sindh) and Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (from the NWFP) in Punjab, Khwaja Shahabuddin from East Pakistan in the NWFP, Mian Aminuddin from Punjab in Balochistan, Justice Din Mohammad and Nawab Mamdot (both from Punjab) in Sindh and many others following the same pattern.

The men chosen came from politics, civil service and judiciary. Some among them were administrators even from the colonial period — the most eminent among them being Sir George Cunningham in the NWFP.

The common strand running through was their distinction in public life and their ability to stay above political squabbles. Those who failed live up to this measure were quickly withdrawn.

In 1976 an amendment was made to Article 101 of the 1973 Constitution stipulating that “a person shall not be appointed to be the governor of the province of which he is a permanent resident”.

It was later undone. The reinstatement of this condition in the Constitution and the revival of Jinnah’s broad sweep in the selection of the governors should strengthen the parliamentary tradition and national unity at a time when both are under siege.