Governor returns Sindh universities amendment bill without his assent

Sindh Governor Kamran Khan Tessori on Tuesday returned to the Sindh Assembly the newly passed Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025 without giving his assent.

The newly passed bill has paved the way for appointment of senior bureaucrats, without possessing the PhD qualification, as vice-chancellors to public sector universities in Sindh. In his objections to the bill, the governor, who is also the chancellor of the public sector universities, mentioned that the guidelines defined by the Higher Education Commission of the federal government clearly states that a vice-chancellor should be an educationist.

Tessori mentioned that other provinces had been following the guidelines given by the federal HEC in this regard. He was of the view that people possessing PhD degrees are fully capable of providing leadership in academic, research, and administrative affairs. He urged the Sindh Assembly to consider his objections to the bill.