ISLAMABAD, Nov 11: On a deadline set by the Supreme Court, the long headless Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Monday got Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani as its new chairperson – but only on a temporary assignment.
A notification arrived at the HEC office from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), announcing that “the Prime Minister is pleased to approve the name of Engr. Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, vice-chancellor, KPK University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar, who is presently one of the senior most vice-chancellors, to act as chairperson, Higher Education Commission, till the formal appointment of a whole-time chairperson.”
A civil engineer, Mr Gilani has served as minister for education, information and tourism of NWFP, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and as information minister in the interim government set up before the 2008 general elections.
Engr. Gilani’s was among the 11 names proposed by the HEC to the PMO on August 26, 2013, the same day the term of Dr Javaid R. Leghari as chairperson ended, for choosing his successor.
However, internal wrangling and jockeying for the prestigious office delayed the government decision.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court, while hearing the case of the fake degree of MNA Sumaira Malik, noted the absence of HEC representative in the courtroom to answer its questions and set the deadline of November 11 for the long delayed appointment of a new HEC chairperson.
Engr. Gilani will be serving a second office in the HEC in the acting capacity.
Earlier he served as acting executive director of HEC for some weeks in the wake of a tussle between the Ministry of Education and HEC over the extension given to Dr Sohail Naqvi then holding the office.
“Not only the wrangling polarised the HEC employees, the government indecision intensified the jockeying for the high office,” said a HEC officer, requesting anonymity.
“We were expecting a full-time chairperson, but the government stuck to ad hoc arrangements. By giving Mr Gilani full charge, it would have put a stop to the politicking,” he said.
In 2008, he recalled, Shahnaz Wazir Ali was appointed acting chairperson of HEC and many important issues of the commission got stuck because she did not have powers of the fulltime chairperson.
“Now, the acting chairperson Gilani will be shuttling between Peshawar and Islamabad to do his job as vice-chancellor of the University of Engineering and Technology and his additional duties at the HEC. Will he be able to give proper time to HEC,” the officer said, noting that HEC has a budget of Rs58 billion and deals with over 170 public sector and private universities.
Engr. Gilani, however, told Dawn that he would try his best to give proper time to both the high offices. But if the government appointed as fulltime chairperson of HEC he would hold only that office.
“I have decided to resolve the issues of HEC. I feel that there is distance between HEC and other government departments. I will try my best to bring them close to each other. My second goal is to remove grouping in the HEC because that has been damaging it,” he said.
“I also believe that the education curriculum should be changed. It should play its role in the economy and development of the country. We should consolidate our educational institutions first and go for their expansion later,” Mr Gilani said.