PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has finally appointed regular vice-chancellors to eight public sector universities for a period of three years on the chief minister’s advice.

The higher education department notified the appointments on Friday night following a two-month correspondence among it and establishment and law departments to resolve a controversy about the mode of appointments.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act for the appointment of VCs to the public sector varsity came into force in 2012 but the controversy about whether the powers to make such appointments rest with the chief minister or the cabinet surfaced early this year.

Sources in the HED told Dawn that a difference of opinion actually emerged due to inconsistency in Section 12(1) and Schedule-II of the universities’ act pertaining to the appointment of VCs.

Section 12 (1) of the KP Universities Act 2012 states, “The Vice-Chancellor shall be appointed by the Chancellor on the advice of Government from a panel of three candidates recommended by the Academic Search Committee.”

Part D(C) of the Schedule-II declares, “The Academic Search Committee after interviewing the shortlisted candidates shall recommend a panel of three suitable candidates to the Chief Executive of the Province who shall recommend one candidate to the Chancellor for approval.”

Appointments made on CM’s advice

The law department insisted that the government or cabinet had the power to appoint VCs, while the HED and establishment department opined that such appointments were the privilege of the chief minister, who is the chief executive of the province.

Sources said the law department finally endorsed the opinion of the HED and establishment departments for the appointment of VCs to eight universities on the recommendation of the chief minister.

They, however, said the law department opined in writing that ‘inconsistency’ in the law on the matter should be removed immediately.

Under the law, governor, the chancellor of public sector universities, appoints VCs on the advice of the chief minister.

After the resolution of the controversy, the HED notified Prof Shahana Urooj Kazmi of the Institute of Public Health Research, Liaquat College of Management Sciences, Karachi, as the VC of the Women University, Swabi, Prof Iftikhar Ahmad of the University of Malakand as the VC of the Gomal University, Prof Johar Ali of the University of Peshawar as the VC of the Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak, Prof Tahir I Khan of the University of Bradford, UK, as the VC of the Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, and Prof Jamil Ahmad, the VC of the Kohat University of Science and Technology, as the VC of the Hazara University, Mansehra.

Also, Prof Shahid Khattak of the Comsats University’s Abbottabad campus as the VC of the University of Engineering and Technology, Mardan, Prof Masroor Ellahi Babar of the Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore, as the VC of the University of Agriculture, Dera Ismail Khan, and Prof Aurangzeb Khan of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan as the VC of the University of Lakki Marwat.

The academic search committee led by former federal minister for science and technology Prof Attaur Rehman interviewed the candidates for the top positions of the eight public universities on Dec 24 and 25 in Islamabad.

Of the 54 shortlisted candidates, it selected 24 three for every university.

The sources said the appointment of VCs to eight more universities of the province was in progress.

On Jan 21, the HED advertised the posts of VCs for the University of Peshawar, University of Science and Technology Peshawar, Kohat University of Science and Technology, University of Science and Technology Bannu, Bacha Khan University Charsadda, University of Swabi, Shuhada-i-Army Public School University of Technology, Nowshera, and Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2020