KARACHI: The Sindh government is yet to implement its directives and cancel postings/transfers of all officials either holding an acting charge or working on the basis of Own Pay Scale (OPS), sources told Dawn.

The directives, they said, were issued recently to show compliance with the Sept 1 order of the Sindh High Court under which the government was required to remove all officials appointed on these terms and conditions within 10 days.

These government officials, they said, included eight (acting) vice chancellors of public sector universities.

According to a recent government notification, seven public sector universities out of 28 are currently headed by acting vice chancellors. These institutions include Sindh University, Jamshoro; Peoples University of Medical and Health Sciences for Women, Shaheed Benazirabad; Sukkur IBA University; Begum Nusrat Bhutto Women’s University, Sukkur; Jinnah Sindh Medical University, Karachi; Dawood University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi; Government College University, Hyderabad and Shaheed Allah Buksh Soomro University of Art, Design and Heritage, Jamshoro.

Surprisingly, the notification marked as ‘court orders’ and ‘most immediate’ doesn’t mention Karachi University’s vice chancellor as ‘acting’ in the list.

Prof Khalid Mahmood Iraqi has been holding the acting charge of the university’s vice chancellor since May, 2019.

“In pursuance of order dated 01.09.2021 passed by the honourable High Court of Sindh Karachi in CP No. D4434/2021 along with CP No. 2686/2021, D-2281, D-5812/2020 and CP No. 2573/2021, all postings on OPS basis and acting charge basis in all departments have been cancelled/withdrawn,” says the Sept 13 notification by the department of universities and boards.

It further asks vice chancellors to ensure “compliance to the order of Honourable High Court of Sindh in letter and spirit” and cancel all such postings and transfers within their jurisdiction immediately.

The sources said the total number of officials either working on acting/additional charge or on OPS basis at government departments and public sector universities ran in hundreds.

“The government notification only exists on paper and none of the officials working on acting charge have been removed yet in public sector universities,” said Prof Liaquat Ali Tunio, president of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association, Sindh chapter.

The director finance and the registrar at Quaid-i-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology in Shaheed Benazirabad district had been appointed on acting charge by the universities and boards department, he added.

University teachers, he said, had been demanding appointment of regular vice chancellors and sacking of retired officials for a long time, but the government had shown no interest in the matter.

“It suits the government to ignore merit and bring in officials on an acting charge as such officials are ready to do whatever officially instructed. But, this practice continuing for a long time has destroyed institutions and created a lot of frustration among staffers who want to apply for key posts through the legal selection process.”

It is pertinent to recall here that the SHC, hearing a set of identical petitions early this month, had directed provincial secretaries to ensure that all officials working on an OPS basis and holding acting charge be removed within 10 days.

It also questioned the award of additional charge to junior officers.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2021