LAHORE: Academicians have criticised the Punjab government for bringing amendments to the acts of public sector universities and ending their autonomy by making three members of the provincial assembly as members of syndicates of all universities of the province.
Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA), Punjab Chapter, convened a meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of its president, Dr Muhammad Islam.
The meeting was attended by presidents and representatives of academic staff associations from across Punjab, including Dr Amjad Magsi (Punjab University), Dr Abdul Sattar Malik (Bahauddin Zakariya University), and Dr Iram Sultana (Government College University, Faisalabad), among others.
The participants unanimously and strongly condemned the Punjab government’s recent moves to “undermine the autonomy” of public sector universities.
FAPUASA warns of province-wide strike if proposal not withdrawn
They expressed concern over the government’s proposed amendments to the acts of long-established universities, including an extremely alarming proposal to make the higher education minister the chairperson of university syndicates. They called it an unprecedented move, which would politicise and micro-manage university affairs at the cost of academic freedom.
These proposed changes further include the abolition of the senate, reduction of elected faculty representation in the syndicate, and the elimination of the participation of judges of the high courts.
It was noted that the members of parliament, instead of playing their due role in the syndicate and senate of various universities where they were already members, were more interested in the ‘political control’ of universities for ‘paltry gains’.
“In this drive to sabotage the academic freedom of universities, the Punjab assembly has recently passed a bill to include three members of the provincial assembly in the syndicates of universities in Punjab,” they said.
The participants warned that these regressive steps would open the floodgates to political interference, compromise academic integrity, and further cripple an already struggling higher education system. They recalled that similar attempts by previous governments had failed due to strong resistance from academia and civil society. They pledged that history would repeat itself if such anti-education measures were pursued.
In response, FAPUASA Punjab Chapter announced a comprehensive protest strategy. Academic staff associations across Punjab had been urged to convene meetings of their general bodies and executive councils to mobilise faculty, engage media, and issue press statements. A joint press conference of ASA representatives would be held in the coming weeks. A province-wide strike across universities would be observed, if the government refuse to withdraw these proposals, they warned.
The participants also appealed to vice chancellors to stand with academia in safeguarding institutional autonomy rather than succumbing to the influence of government.
They further called upon civil society, social media influencers, and the wider public to support this cause, emphasising that saving universities was tantamount to saving society, the youth, and future generations.
Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2025