LAHORE: The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) has constituted a four-member committee to scrutinise selection board proceedings at 10 public sector universities of the province, raising questions over the commission’s legal authority to examine recruitment records and assess decisions taken by universities’ statutory bodies.

According to the notification available with Dawn, a committee was constituted to examine selection board proceedings on a case-by-case basis, assessing compliance with applicable laws, rules, regulations and approved recruitment criteria, obtaining relevant records and written clarifications from universities, and recommending corrective measures.

The committee has been directed to submit a report, with its findings and recommendations, within 14 days.

The committee comprises PHEC quality assurance director Dr Asif Munir, research director Javed Aamir Malik, accreditation director Dr Mumtaz Ali Khan, and assistant director Sidra Ali.

Four-member committee tasked with scrutinising selection board work of 10 varsities; panel member says move undertaken after complaints

The committee has been tasked with scrutinising selection board proceedings at University of Layyah, University of Sargodha, University of Kamalia, Thal University Bhakkar, University of Gujrat, Emerson University Multan, Government College Women University Sialkot, Punjab Tianjin University of Technology Lahore, University of Home Economics Lahore and Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology in Rahim Yar Khan.

The move has prompted concerns among senior university officials about the distinction between the commission’s mandate to promote quality, improve governance and monitor institutional performance and the powers exercised by universities’ statutory authorities in recruitment matters.

Section 10 of the Punjab Higher Education Commission Act, 2014, sets out the commission’s powers and functions. These include monitoring and evaluating institutional performance, conducting third-party performance audits, developing governance guidelines, supporting quality assurance and collecting information on higher education institutions.

However, the section does not expressly confer a specific power to scrutinise individual selection board proceedings or review their decisions.A public sector university vice chancellor on condition of anonymity told Dawn that the move is against the Acts of the universities.

To a query, he said that legally PHEC did not have power to scrutinise the selection board.

A senior dean at a public sector university described the committee as lacking a clear legal basis and questioned whether universities were obliged to provide it with recruitment records and explanations.

“The selection board is a high-level statutory body comprising senior academic and administrative officials. Its proceedings are governed by the relevant university law. Any external scrutiny of its proceedings must have a clear legal basis,” the dean said.

He said any concerns about irregularities in recruitment should be addressed through the mechanisms provided under the applicable laws. The respective university laws also define the role of the Punjab governor as chancellor. Under these laws, the chancellor exercises specific supervisory powers, including the power, where expressly provided, to examine proceedings of university authorities and take action in accordance with the relevant statute.

For instance, Section 10 of the University of Sargodha Act, 2002, empowers the chancellor to call for and examine the record of proceedings in which an order has been passed by a university authority, to assess its correctness, legality or propriety, and to pass an appropriate order.

University officials argue that any scrutiny of selection board proceedings must be undertaken within the framework of the relevant university law and by an authority legally empowered to do so, raising questions about the statutory basis on which PHEC has assigned this function to its newly constituted committee. They contend that the commission’s role should not be interpreted as conferring powers that have not been established under the applicable legal framework.

The dean urged the provincial government to examine the commission’s mandate and determine whether the committee’s terms of reference fall within its lawful powers.

A member of the committee requesting anonymity told this reporter that the commission had received several complaints against the selection boards of the 10 universities.

He cited Sections 10(e) and 10(w) of the Punjab Higher Education Commission Act, 2014, as the legal basis for the exercise. Section 10(e) empowers the commission to provide guidelines for good governance and management of institutions to maintain high standards of higher education in Punjab, while Section 10(w) authorises it to collect information and statistics on higher education and institutions as it considers appropriate.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2026