Regular vice chancellor for SZABMU demanded

Islamabad : The Acting Vice Chancellor at Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZABMU) has requested the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination to initiate process for appointment of a regular VC for the University that has been operating without a regular VC since January 6 this year.

Highlighting need for regular VC at SZABMU through a letter written to the federal secretary at the ministry, the Acting VC Professor Abid Farooqi stated that in the absence of a regular Vice Chancellor, he had to take acting charge because of being the Pro Vice Chancellor at the time of retirement of the first VC of the university Professor Javed Akram whose tenure expired on January 6 this year.

He stated that he continued serving in the capacity since January and now his retirement is due at the end of March 2019. Time is running short and a search committee needs to be announced to start the process of selecting a regular vice chancellor, reads the letter.

He also stated that his letter was meant to highlight the particular issue of appointment of a regular VC for the attention of the federal secretary and he has “absolutely no intention to be one of the candidates of VC-ship”.

It is important to mention here that the SZABMU has been operating without a regular Controller, Registrar and Treasurer since the start of its functioning in January 2014 though it was established through an Act of Parliament.

The original SZABMU Act 2013 was amended in February 2018 that set aside the role of Vice Chancellor as the chief executive of the attached institutions namely Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Federal Medical & Dental College.

An Anomalies Committee was constituted as per the Amendment Act 2018 to sort out the lacunae in the integrated working of the three related institutions. Professor Farooqi stated in the letter that he had been part of the committee and “would like to see all issues resolved before a regular VC is appointed.”

The Executive Director at PIMS Dr. Amjad Mehmood when contacted by ‘The News’ on Tuesday said the Chief Justice of Pakistan has already asked the government to appoint heads of the institutions on regular basis so that they can deliver properly.

The government should appoint a regular vice chancellor at the SZABMU instead of initiating a process for filling the slot on temporary basis, he said.