Search committee decides to re-advertise for law varsity’s VC

Due to changing the age limit of the vice chancellor from 65 to 62 years and not finding suitable candidates, a candidate for appointment as permanent vice chancellor could not be selected for Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Shaheed University of Law Karachi and the search committee has decided to re-advertise for the post.

On Tuesday, nine out of 25 candidates were called for an interview in a meeting presided over by the chairman of the search committee, Dr Tariq Rafi. Sources very close to Secretary Boards and Universities, Noor Ahmed Sumo said that among the nine candidates who were called were Mubasher Qadir, Mudassar Khan, Dr Rukhsar Ahmed, Dr Nabi Bakhsh Narejo, Rahim Soomro, Sajjada Shamim Khusro Iqbal, Muhammad Tahir, and Farid Ahmed Dayo. However, two legal experts in the search committee declared only one candidate qualified, while the rest of the candidates were rejected.

At this, it was decided that according to the law it is necessary to send a panel consisting of three names to the chief minister of Sindh; therefore, the post of VC of the Law University should be re-advertised.

A member of the search committee said that high court judges retire at 62 years, while Supreme Court judges retire at 65 years, while the age limit for the vice chancellor of the Law University is 62 years; therefore, it has become difficult to find qualified and suitable candidates.

Under the Federal Higher Education Commission, the age limit of the vice-chancellors in the provinces of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan is set at 65 years, but former secretary boards and universities Mureed Rahimon had sent a summary to the chief minister of Sindh without taking the search committee into confidence in 2022 and reduced the age limit from 65 years to 62 years.