PESHAWAR: The number of applicants for the posts of vice-chancellor in public sector universities has reduced by around 75 per cent since the provincial government incorporated the new criteria for the coveted position in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act-2012 a couple of months ago, according to sources.

This came to fore after the government advertised the posts of VCs of Hazara University, Mansehra, and Kohat University of Science and Technology recently, they said.

The sources said that only 100 candidates had applied for the two positions, while prior to incorporating the criteria the number of applicants for such posts was much higher. They said that in some instances the number of applicants for a single post would cross the figure of 200.

Prior to major amendments in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act-2012 only a few lines were mentioned in the law about the VC’s qualification which states “There shall be a vice-chancellor of the university who shall be an eminent academician, a distinguished administrator or a former public office-holder and shall be appointed on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed”. Rest of the criteria for the VC’s appointment was framed from time to time by the government, but never made part of the law, the sources said.

The important points in the criteria incorporated in the law introduced recently by the provincial government for a vice-chancellor is that he (VC) shall have minimum of 40 research publications in peer-reviewed international research journals (with impact factors of above 1.0 in the case of candidates in the fields of agriculture, science or engineering). Similarly, for general universities (e.g. University of Peshawar), the candidate should have earned doctorate in any discipline and good academic record.

However, for specialised universities doctorate should be in the field that the university specialises in e.g. for Khyber Medical University, MBBS or equivalent medical degree from a foreign university with fellowship in relevant specialisation or PhD in a relevant discipline.

It is compulsory for the VC to have experience in the field of higher education of at least 20 years in teaching and research in a university/well-established institution of repute at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. He shall have at least 10 years of administrative/postdoctoral research experience in the field of higher education.

The candidates applying for the post of VC shall also have experience to supervise PhD students leading to successful grant of PhD degrees to students and execution of at least one major research project as well as experience of working with international bodies or international exposure through participation in workshops, seminars or conferences held outside the country.

The sources said that it was expected that half of the 100 candidates who had applied for the post of VCs of Hazara University and KUST would be dropped from the competition when the Higher Education Department applied the new criteria during scrutiny of their credentials.

About the publication of minimum of 40 research papers with impact factors above 1.0, an observer said that publication of 40 research papers was possible, but the impact factors of above 1.0 was very rare. Achieving the impact factors above 1.0 was possible in physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc but the professors in the field of social sciences, medical and engineering would hardly fulfil the criteria as it was very hard to have impact factor above 1.0 in such subjects, the sources said.

A former VC of one of the government universities said that academician having a desire to become VC in future would now try to bring quality in their research for getting the required impact factor. For this purpose, he said, the researchers would also do efforts to get their research articles published in the international journals.

The academicians until now would prefer to publish their research articles in the local journals because it doesn’t need much effort.

The ongoing appointment process of two VCs would be a test case for HED to remove lacunas from the law, the sources said, adding that there were little chances for the academician of social sciences to fulfil the basic criteria for VC post.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play