Daily Times

LAHORE: The Federation of All Pakistan Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) has voiced concern over the possible changes to selection criteria for appointing vice chancellors (VCs) at the public universities across the province.

Earlier, a 10-member committee, formed by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, had proposed removal of PhD and teaching experience conditions for the selection of vice chancellors. The committee had also proposed that non-teaching staff could be eligible to apply for the slots. Following the news items regarding possible change to selection criteria for VCs, the association held an emergency meeting at the University of Punjab on Saturday and demanded the chief minister not to change selection criteria for VCs in the greater interest of the academia.

Members of the federation said that despite being important stakeholders, teachers were not taken on board while taking the decision to change the criteria for appointment of VC at public universities. They questioned how a candidate without having research publications to his/her credit could patron research activities at the higher education institutes to which they had been primarily set for.

They said that transparency and merit should be ensured in appointment process of VCs, while representation from private universities must also be discouraged. “In the light of 18th Constitutional Amendment, the provincial government should play supportive role for promotion of higher education in the Punjab through the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC).”

The federation, however, supported the idea of the Punjab government to set up a cell at the PHEC for appointment of vice chancellors at all public sector universities in Punjab. It was further resolved that vice chancellors appointed from academia had played their role very professionally for uplift of universities, therefore, teaching experience must be part of the criteria for the selection of VCs.

The federation considered it only a “conspiracy” that a teacher could not run a university. “We believe that only university professors can better serve the institutions of higher education in the province.”

The meeting was presided over by FAPUASA Punjab President Prof Dr Javed Ahmad. Former FAPUSA general secretary Dr Mehboob Hussain, Bahauddin Zakariya University ASA General Secretary Dr Hassan Bucha, BZU Syndicate member Dr Tahir Sultan, former PUASA president Prof Dr Sajid Rashid Ahmad. Dr M Azhar Naeem, Dr Ayub Faridi and others attended the meeting.

Published in Daily Times, July 23^rd , 2017.