ISLAMABAD: The International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) Board of Trustees will meet today (Tuesday) to discuss and decide various matters, including the appointment of a new president.

The university’s elected body - Academic Staff Association (ASA) and the All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) - have expressed reservations regarding the procedure being adopted to appoint the new president.

The IIUI Board of Trustees is headed by President Dr Arif Alvi, and consists of around 40 members from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries. The IIUI is run with public funding and has more than 30,000 students, making it one of the largest universities in the country.

The post of IIUI president has been vacant since the resignation of Saudi national Dr Yousif Al Draiweesh, who had been appointed for a second four-year term that was supposed to end on June 30, 2022, but tendered his resignation on June 15 this year.

University’s elected body, ASA and FAPUASA have all criticised procedure to appoint president and called for a competitive process instead

The IIUI ASA and FAPUASA have demanded that the new president be appointed after a competitive process, but IIUI Rector Dr Masoom Yasinzai, who has finalised three names to be placed before the board, told Dawn that according to the IIUI Ordinance he can suggest three names to the Board of Trustees without a formal competitive process.

Dr Yasinzai confirmed that the board would meet on Tuesday, adding: “The issue of the appointment of a new president is also on the agenda as Dr Yousif Al Draiweesh resigned from the post of IIUI president. He said he will be presenting three names at the meeting.

According to Higher Education Commission (HEC) rules, the heads of public-sector universities are to be appointed after a competitive process through a search committee. But in the case of the post of IIUI president, a competitive process has almost never been involved in the appointment.

In 2012, the university advertised this position and received 51 applications before the president of Pakistan at the time halted the process and appointed Dr Draiweesh to the post, even though he had not applied for it.

In a letter on June 18, the IIUI ASA asked the rector to consider “merit, fairness, competitiveness, principle of seniority cum fitness and legal implications while recommending any panel to BoT of appointment of the president”.

The letter said that the HEC has already established a criteria for search committees to shortlist candidates to head universities, adding that “IIUI is not situated in Iceland, therefore, the same criteria must also be applied for recommending a panel for appointment of president”.

In an official statement, the FAPUASA also demanded a competitive process for this post.

“The illegal and closed door appointments may not pay any dividend to IIUI and higher education in Pakistan. The HEC has already established the criteria for shortlisting the candidates for appointments at top positions, which should be used for the appointment of president IIUI,” the FAPUASA statement quoted its president Dr Sohail Yousaf as saying.

Sources said that the panel of three people who will be presented to the Board of Trustees by the rector include the names of one foreigner and two Pakistani educationists, including a faculty member of the university who became a professor in 2016 and presently serving on an important administrative post.

Despite the presence of several senior faculty members, the faculty member was chosen by the rector for this panel. Some of the senior most professors of the university have also written to the rector, expressing their concern on the inclusion of the faculty member in the panel and for not being consulted on the matter.

When asked about the professor’s nomination, Dr Yasinzai said he could not disclose the names at this time.

According to article13(1) of the IIUI Ordinance, the Board of Trustees appoints the president from a panel recommended by the rector for a four-year term.

The last board meeting discussed that rules for the appointment of a president have not yet been framed and in such a situation, sources said that the IIUI Board of Governors has already approved following the rules of the federal government. The sources said that if the government’s rules are to be applied, the university will have to adopt a competitive process.

They said the university’s rector was also appointed through a competitive process.

IIUI officials who Dawn spoke to raised questions about the performance of the Board of Trustees, saying that according to article 18(1) of the IIUI Ordinance, the board should meet once a year. But, they said, the board has only met five times in the last 15 years, mostly to appoint a president.

The officials added that the board, under article 50(1) of the ordinance, is supposed to provide financial support to the university but has failed to do so, with the university sometimes having to bear the cost of its meetings.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2020