ISLAMABAD, Oct 4: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities’ Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) has once again asked the government to discourage the trend of appointing former military officers as vice chancellors.

The recent appointment of a retired brigadier as the vice chancellor of Bolan University in Balochistan has taken a lot of flak from universities’ elected bodies throughout the country.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Mohammad Ishaq of the Quaid-i- Azam University, who represents FAPUASA’s Islamabad chapter, said it was an encroachment on the rights of the teaching community and would create further disturbance in Balochistan. The decision will not serve any purpose, be it educational or political, Dr Ishaq said.

In response to a question, he said during a meeting between FAPUASA and the Higher Education Commission last month, HEC chairman Dr Attaur Rehman had been informed about the Balochistan governor’s intention to appoint an ex-military man as vice chancellor of the Bolan University.

However, Dr Ata said the HEC could only see whether the chancellors were appointed through the newly constituted search committee, as the commission had no right to stop the provincial governors (chancellors) or ask them regarding appointment of vice chancellors.

Last year, during a chancellors’ committee meeting presided over by President General Pervez Musharraf, a search committee was formed for the appointment of vice chancellors. Under the rules, the post will be advertised in the media and the search committee after interview will select a penal of three candidates, out of whom the governor will finalise one.

But for the latest appointment, no such procedure was adopted by the Balochistan governor.

At present, a number of public sector universities are led by retired military personnel.

These are: Lt-Gen (retired) Arshad Mahmood, VC University of the Punjab, Lahore; Brig (retired) Aziz Ahmad Khan, Rector National University of Modern Languages; Brig (retired) Mukhtar Ahmad, Vice-Chancellor Balochistan University of Engineering and Technology, Khuzdar; Lt-Gen (retired) M. Akram Khan, Vice-Chancellor University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore; Vice Admiral Fayyazur Rahman, Rector Bahria University, Islamabad; Lt-Gen (retired) Syed Shujaat Hussain, Rector National University of Sciences and Technology; Air Marshal (retired) Qazi Javed, Vice-Chancellor Air University, Islamabad; Brig (retired) Sirajuddin, Lasbela University of Agriculture, Lasbela, Balochistan.