BAHAWALPUR: Three public sector universities in south Punjab -- Islamia University Bahawalpur (IUB), Government Sadiq Women University, Bahawalpur, and Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, are running without acting vice chancellors as it will take several months to complete the appointment process of a permanent vice chancellor by a search committee constituted by the Punjab Higher Education Department.

The four-year tenure of Prof Dr Muhammad Mukhtar as a vice chancellor of the IUB has expired on Tuesday.

The Punjab government had also given Prof Mukhtar the additional charge of two other universities -- Government Sadiq Women University, Bahawalpur, and Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan.

Prof Mukhtar relinquished the charge on Tuesday and was awaiting Punjab Higher Education secretary’s notification to hand over the charge to any senior professor.

However, till the filing of this story on Wednesday, the Punjab government did not issue any notification for the appointment of any senior professor as an acting vice-chancellor of the IUB with the additional charge of two other universities.

The confusion prevailed on Wednesday among senior faculty members of the university (IUB) whose officials made frantic calls to the Punjab Higher Education Department, Lahore, but to no avail.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2014