ISLAMABAD: The race for coveted post of Chairman Higher Education Commission entered into final stage, as scrutiny committee had finalised three names.

The ministry will send these names to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for picking one of them for the said position.

At least three officials of education ministry told Dawn that former Vice Chancellor NED University Dr Sarosh Hashmat Lodi, VC Quaid-i-Azam University Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar and VC University of Punjab Dr Mohammad Ali are in final race and their names will be sent to PM.

An official of the ministry said that no numbering was carried out for these three candidates and their names had been mentioned in summary on alphabetical manners. Secretary Education Nadeem Mahbub, who is also holding acting charge of the HEC Chairman could not be reached for official confirmation of these name. However, officials stated that these names had been finalised.

The country’s academia had shown an overwhelming interest in the lucrative post of the HEC chairman as the search committee had received around 750 applications and after interview process, the three names had been finalised.

The chairman’s post fell vacant on July 30, after the expiry of the tenure of Dr Mukhtar Ahmed.

In June this year, the prime minister had formed a search committee headed by Federal Education Minister Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and comprising state minister for education and several education experts.

Insiders say, the new HEC chairman will face several challenges including funding arrangements for universities as universities had been facing funding and administrative issues while there was a lot of work required to be done at HEC secretariat as well.

Officials said that there is also need to take steps for improving enrollment in higher education sector. They said that were over 270 public and private educational institutions in the country with 140 campuses, but enrollment was facing a little decline, which was a matter of concerns.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2025