PESHAWAR: The University of Peshawar has failed to implement the criteria set by the Higher Education Commission in 2012 for the appointment of faculty members.

The minimum educational qualification set by the HEC for the appointment of a university lecturer is MPhil or MS degree, PhD for assistant professors, 10 years teaching experience, including five years’ after PhD, for associate professor, and 10 years post-PhD teaching experience with 15 publications in the HEC recognised journals with at least five being published in the last five years for professors, sources said.

Sources told Dawn that the HEC had been in formal contact with the UoP since 2012 for the implementation of the minimum qualification criteria.

Chief of VC secretariat insists criteria approved by syndicate, will be placed before senate in next meeting

They said the HEC issued a letter to the university on Jan 26, 2017, ordering the implementation of that criteria by June 30, 2017, but to no avail.

The HEC’s letter read, “Universities that have already adopted and implemented the commission’s (HEC) decision of raising minimum qualification for appointment of lecturers to level of M.Phil/MS or equivalent degree (18 years) or master degree from foreign university were acknowledged and advised to continue implementing the decisions.

“Those institutions, who are yet to raise the qualification for appointment of lecturers, are directed to ensure implementation of the commission’s decision by June 30, 2017.”

Violating the HEC’s faculty appointment criteria, the UoP advertised two posts of the assistant professors and 16 of lecturers on April 4, 2018, in different departments with the qualifications less than those fixed by the HEC, sources said.

They said the vacancies to be filled existed in zoology, statistics, physics, Pashto, pharmacy, Urdu and other departments.

Under the HEC criteria, the educational qualification for the university lecturer is MPhil but the UoP advertisement set the qualification as the first class master’s degree or second class master’s degree with MPhil or equivalent degree awarded after 16 years of education in the relevant field.

Similarly, the HEC’s requirement for the appointment of assistant professor is PhD but the UoP’s required qualification mentioned in the advertisement was confusing.

The advertisement states, “PhD in the relevant field from the HEC-recognised university/institution. Or Master’s degree (foreign) or M.Phil (Pakistan) or equivalent degree awarded after 18 years of education…”

The sources said appointment to the advertised posts was in process and that the scrutiny of the documents of candidates had almost been completed.

They said the syndicate of UoP has already approved the HEC’s faculty appointment criteria in its 425th meeting held in 2016 but despite that, the administration had failed to implement it.

The sources said last UoP chancellor/governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had directed the administration to implement the HEC criteria immediately, but to no avail.

When contacted, chief of UoP VC secretariat Dr Yurid Ahsan Zia said the HEC criteria had already been approved by the syndicate.

“It will be placed before the university senate in next meeting,” he said.

Dr Yurid said once the senate adopted the HEC criteria, then it would be forwarded to the chancellor of the public sector universities for approval.

However, the sources said the UoP senate met thrice since the syndicate had adopted the HEC criteria but it didn’t place the criteria.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2018