THE Senate of the COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI) is scheduled to meet later this month (Aug 15), and the relevant stakeholders are hoping that the meeting will actually be held as the process has already seen delays. The meeting is critical as the decisions it is likely to take will practically decide the immediate and long-term future of the institution.

CUI possesses the country’s largest pool of PhD faculty, but the academic and administrative environment is such that a large number of faculty members have already jumped the ship, especially under the interim setup that has been running the university like a high school.

Senior offices within the administration have either been filled by unqualified, undeserving individuals or have been kept vacant to ensure the monopoly of a few. Nepotism, ad-hocism and blatant abuse of authority have been the trademark of most administrative decision taken in recent years. An education ‘mafia’ has been calling the shots at the public-sector university, and it has been doing it for the last two decades with great impunity.

Truly, higher education institutions have a significant role of nurturing future generations through quality teaching, innovation and research.

For this, faculty as well as statutory bodies need to diligently work in harmony. Moreover, it is equally essential to appoint intellectuals with integrity on the sole basis of transparency and undisputed merit.

Prof (Dr) Mahnaz Q. Haseeb
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2024