PU syndicate yet to reach consensus on appointment

LAHORE: The latest meeting of the Punjab University (PU) syndicate, held on Saturday, was marked by intense discussions regarding the appointment of heads of various teaching departments of the university.

The syndicate meeting was somewhat overshadowed by the final day of Punjab University's 3-day mega book fair, held after a gap of nine years, which drew thousands of attendees and widespread media coverage.

According to the sources, lasting nearly six hours, the meeting witnessed heated debates among syndicate members regarding these appointments. One agenda item related to an appointment of Chairperson of the Department of Journalism at the university’s School of Communication Studies (SCS) was deferred after the syndics failed to reach a consensus.

It is learnt that syndicate member Sardar Asghar Iqbal declined his appointment as the head of the Kashmiriyat Department in protest. He expressed that if he was unable to secure justice for other teachers, he could not justify assuming the role of department head. Among a panel of three candidates, his name for this post was proposed by the vice chancellor.

Similarly, a heated debate ensued regarding the appointment of the head of the university's Institute of Geography. The vice chancellor proposed the name of Prof Dr Isma Younis, who is nearly 10 years junior to Prof Dr Munawar Sabir, the interim Director since August 2023, who was expected to be confirmed as the director.

Some members of the syndicate argued that Dr Hanan was transferred to the Journalism Department recently just to appoint him as the Chairperson of the department. Talking to The News, PU Pro VC Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood, who also holds the charge of VC, mentioned that according to the university calendar, he had the authority to propose any of the three candidates from a panel for appointment. He explained that Sardar Asghar Iqbal had voluntarily withdrawn his name, as he was in favour of a rotation-based appointment, which was not permitted by the university rules. Subsequently, Prof Dr Khawaja Zahid Aziz was appointed as the Chairman of the Department of Kashmiriyat following a consensus among the members.

Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood said two of the members had submitted their note of dissent over the appointment of Prof Dr Isma Younis. He said following a debate over this appointment it was decided by the Syndicate to hold a vote and subsequently Prof Dr Isma Younis was appointed as the Chairperson.

About the appointment of head of the Department of Journalism, Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood said that opinion among the syndics was divided over the appointment of Prof Dr Mian Hanan Ahmad as the Chairperson so the agenda item was withdrawn and would be discussed in the next meeting of the syndicate.