IN its Aug 29 judgment in a constitutional petition taken up in terms of Article 184(3) of the Constitution, titled ‘All Public Universities BPS Teachers Association vs Federation of Pakistan’, the Supreme Court (SC) noted some disturbing facts as to how public-sector universities in the country were being made to function. The findings were based on a report submitted by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.

There are 12 universities under the ministry’s purview; two each in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and four each in Punjab and Islamabad. All these universities are either working without vice-chancellors (VCs) or without other tenured positions, while some have such vacancies filled in with temporary app-ointments or on an ad hoc basis.

One university in Multan has a VC who has occupied the post since a decade without undergoing proper competitive recruitment process using political affiliation. It was further observed by the SC that the Board of Trustees or the Board of Governors do not hold meetings as required by the constitution of respective universities.

The condition of universities under the control of provincial governments is not different. Out of five universities in Balochistan, three universities have ad hoc VCs, while the VCs of the remaining two have obtained stay orders from the Balochistan High Court.

Besides, the report submitted by the KP government discloses that out of 34 universities, 19 do not have a regular VC.

Moving on, according to a similar report from the Punjab government, 25 of the 34 universities are working without a regular VC. According to the Sindh government, seven universities do not have regular VCs. As such, holding of meetings as mandated by the constitution of the universities is also not being followed, observed the SC.

The SC has made it clear that public-sector universities must comply with their respective laws, and those in charge of them must demonstrate that they are competent enough to hold their respective positions. Transgressions adversely affect academics, the reputation and standing of Pakistani universities, and also undermine the degrees awarded by them, noted the SC.

We can only hope that those in charge will take a serious note of the state of affairs prevailing in public-sector universities. Until we improve our education system and equip people with the right tools, our dreams of progress cannot be realised.

Syed Hassaan Naeem
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2024