Defending the newly passed universities laws bill, the Sindh chief minister has informed the provincial assembly that his government has been trying to make public varsities more independent, with them being accountable to the House instead of a single person.
“The position of the governor is ceremonial and so is the position of the chancellor,” CM Syed Murad Ali Shah told the legislature during Thursday’s sitting of the current session as he responded to the governor’s objections on the Sindh Universities & Institutes Laws (Amendment) Bill 2018.
Shah said the Constitution does not even empower the governor to summon a session of the provincial assembly, adding that the governor is bound to convene a session of the House on the advice of the chief executive, who is empowered by the legislature.
Referring to Governor Mohammad Zubair’s observations on the newly passed bill, the CM said that most of the objections contained in his remarks are either unfounded or refer to irrelevant provisions and articles of the Constitution.
“The governor said in his message that under the new law, he has been made to sit on the weaker side of the equation when it comes to managing the affairs of universities.” But, added Shah, the governor should keep in mind that he does not figure anywhere in the equation regarding the management of the universities because the educational institutions will be managed by the provincial government in accordance with the Constitution.
The chief executive said that the provincial government, through the powers vested in it by the House, will look after and manage all the affairs of universities from now on. “Universities should be accountable to this elected House instead of being accountable to anyone else.”
Shah made the assurance that any valid objection to or criticism of the universities bill by the concerned quarters as well as the opposition will be addressed. “But we should keep in mind that the collective thinking of the Cabinet and of this House has always been better than that of a single person appointed by the federation,” he said referring to the governor.
Shah said that he as the CM of the province is answerable to the legislature and that he also leads the Cabinet, so on behalf of the Sindh government, he as the chief executive of the province will be constitutionally responsible to oversee all the affairs of public universities.
He said the elected House is empowered to legislate, adding that the universities bill was not passed to empower any single person or authority and that it was passed in accordance with the Constitution.
The CM said that through the newly passed universities laws bill, his government has removed the dichotomy of powers in managing the affairs of public varsities. He said that according to the Constitution and relevant laws, the chief executive has been empowered to appoint vice-chancellors of public universities, as after these appointments, there will be no need for VCs to visit the Governor House to apply for leave or to seek approval regarding the management of their respective varsities.
Shah said his provincial government, in line with the powers vested in it by the Constitution and the legislature, has established a separate department and provincial higher education commission to run the affairs of all public universities. He said a secretary of universities & boards has been looking after the affairs of public universities on behalf of the Sindh government, and after the passage of the new bill, VCs do not need to visit the Governor House for seeking approval on matters regarding their respective varsities.
The chief executive said his provincial administration has been providing an annual grant of Rs5 billion to public universities, adding that these funds are not being provided to any religious seminary but are being spent for the promotion of higher education in Sindh.
He said public universities across the province will be empowered to adopt their admission policies on their own, but this will be carried out under a set of guidelines issued for this purpose, adding that these rules will be deliberated on and adopted by the Cabinet.
The CM said that in accordance with the demand of the representative federation of the concerned faculty members of universities, he has agreed to lessen the nominees of the provincial government in syndicates of public universities, adding that the finance secretary and the planning & development board chairman will no longer be members of the syndicate.
After the chief executive’s comments, the provincial legislature deferred the reconsideration of the universities laws bill for one more day in the light of the governor’s observations. The House also unanimously passed the Sindh Holy Quran (Printing, Recording and Disposal of Damaged or Shaheed and Sacred Auraq) Bill 2018. The bill was presented by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Nisar Khuhro.
The minister suggested forming a board of ulema of different schools of thought to print, record and protect the pages of the holy Quran, as similar boards are also present in other provinces.
Initially, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s parliamentary party leader in the House, Syed Sardar Ahmad, opposed the idea of the proposed board, saying that building consensus among ulema of different schools of thought is a difficult matter. Later, however, the legislature unanimously passed the bill.