Interviews for VCs of 19 universities likely this month

PESHAWAR: Interviews for appointment of vice-chancellors of 19 public sector universities in the province, which have been functioning without regular heads and some even without a caretaker vice-chancellor, are likely to be held this month.

Call letters for the interviews may be issued to the candidates not later than the next week and the interviews would be held this month, a senior official at the higher education department told The News. Another source in the department said that the interviews would be held on January 19 and 20 in the lone five-star hotel of the provincial metropolis.

The positions at 12 universities had been advertised in August 2022 and the interviews were delayed three times on one pretext or another, forcing the former chairman of the search and search committee Dr Ataur Rahman to quit his office in November 2023.

Those universities kept functioning without regular vice-chancellors for nearly two years. In December 2023, seven more vice-chancellors completed their tenure and the number of the university’s vice-chancellors climbed up to 19. The 12 universities that have been functioning without regular vice-chancellors for nearly two years included: Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan, University of Agriculture, Dera Ismail Khan, Women University Swabi, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Swat, University of Agriculture, Swat, University of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Swat, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, University of Shangla, Khushal Khan Khattak University, Karak, University of Science and Technology Bannu, University of Engineering and Technology, Mardan, and Hazara University, Mansehra are functioning under caretaker setups.

The seven more universities where the vice-chancellors completed their tenures in December last and the positions had been advertised quite earlies than the completion of the tenure of the vice-chancellors included: University of Peshawar, University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, University of Technology Nowshera, Bacha Khan University Charsadda, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Kohat University of Science and Technology and the University of Lakki Marwat.

After the resignation of Dr Ataur Rahman as convenor of the academic and search committee, the provincial government on the directives of the Governor/Chancellors public sector universities reconstituted the committee with Prof Dr Kausar A Malik, ex-member of planning commission of Pakistan as convenor, Prof Dr Mohammad Aslam Baig of the Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad and Prof Dr Anwarul Hassan Gillani, former vice-chancellor Haripur University as members.

The new committee is determined to hold the interviews this month so that the process could be completed before the arrival of the new elected government. The candidates for the positions, however, have a different opinion. They are critical of the “delaying tactics” on part of the quarters concerned to delay the process.

The candidates have also expressed serious concerns of a proforma sent by the higher education department asking them to fill and submit before the interviews. They wondered as to why the proforma was sent to them despite the fact that they have already submitted seven copies for each university they applied for. Also, they had filled a similar proforma given to them by the HED with each application, one of the candidates told The News.

He said that he had applied for five universities and thus submitted 35 copies of his detailed CV and credentials besides the filled proforma. “I don’t understand what is the need of this proforma now. I think it is a mere time-pass to delay the process and present it as an excuse if somebody asks about the unnecessary delay in the process,” he said.

Another candidate said that in the proforma the candidates have been asked to submit details of their experience against administrative positions such as registrar, treasurers and controller examinations etc. according to the universities act 2012, a professor cannot be appointed against administrative position.

Also, the candidates have been asked to give details of the development projects they have undertaken. “How can a professor undertake a development project? Professors can do academic and research-based projects, not developmental ones,” he argued.

A senior official of the HED, when asked about the candidates’ reservations about the proforma, said that the proforma had been made by the academic and search committee and the HED only forwarded it to the candidates on the directives of the committee.