THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Varsity woes’ (Jan 19). Most governments in the developed countries tend to take proactive initiatives to get the maximum benefit from academia in effective public management.

They engage academics as well as PhDs in various research and training programmes that benefit the management of public institutions. But, unfortunately, the recent move in the Sindh Assembly shows that we have some other kind of convictions.

The assembly has given a signal that bureaucrats are better than even the most experienced academics, including PhD professors with more than 15 years of experience in teaching, research and administration.

On the ground, opening the doors for non-academic bureaucrats for the position of vice-chancellor (VC) of public universities in Sindh is equivalent to encroachment of academia by irrelevant favourite elite. It is no wonder that there is much hue and cry being raised about the appointment of permanent leadership of public-sector universities, most of them being taken care of currently by acting VCs.

We need to improve the head hunting process rather than filling the gap with bureaucrats. We must strive to be able to compete at the global level, and for this we have to follow the best practices from the best universities in the world.

Undoubtedly, no sane person would favour the decision of handing over the charge of the most important role of the vice-chancellor to some non-academic and non-PhD person who may not be sensitive to the nitty-gritty of educational institutions.

Public-sector universities in Sindh are already falling behind in the race of academic reputation and quality. They cannot be further endangered by infiltration of outsiders. Only the relevant and competent academics can lead the seats of higher learning.

Instead of bringing such controversial policies, the Sindh government must ensure transparent process of recruiting vice-chancellors. Let the professionals and experts lead. There is no dearth of talent.

The future of thousands of students in these public-sector universities in Sindh must not be put at stake just to entertain the wishes of certain people within the system who consider these universities just like any other money-making government institution.

Dr Kamran Ahmed Soomro
Karachi

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2025