Advertisement for posts despite ban draws criticism

LAHORE:Despite a ban on recruitment by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and subsequent directions by the Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab, the UET Lahore recently advertised some posts attracting criticism from the stakeholders. The ECP had imposed the ban on January 22 and subsequently the HED Punjab issued its directions to the universities across Punjab on January 23 clearly stating that there would be a complete ban on transfer/posting and all kinds of recruitment except those made by the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

Nonetheless, the UET issued an advertisement for new recruitment on January 31, with 28th February as the last date to apply. A UET faculty member, seeking anonymity, said that the university administration had violated the government’s instructions by issuing the advertisement for recruitment.

However, a senior UET official said that as per requirement of faculty members to seek accreditation for different academic programmes from accreditation bodies the university had published the advertisement as recruitment was a lengthy process. He, however, said that the university would not hold selection boards for the recruitment unless allowed by the ECP and the HED and meanwhile the university could complete shortlisting of candidates etc.