Old fixes, new failures

If you grew up in a village in 1980s Pakistan, you probably remember the doctor babu – the primary caregiver for a wide range of ailments within the community.

He was often a schoolteacher with a dispenser’s certificate, a technician from a local hospital, or simply a village-based dispenser running a small clinic. With limited medical access, poor communication and little transport, villagers naturally turned to him first. He would do his best. Most cases were routine, and his treatments generally worked, earning him the community’s trust. But in severe cases, when patients failed to improve, he would eventually refer them to a city hospital. By the time they got there, however, the hospital doctor’s first words were often: “You brought the patient too late”.

Much like delaying specialist care in critical cases, postponing serious interventions in our universities can cause lasting damage. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has recently appointed 23 new vice chancellors (VCs) and granted one-year extensions to six serving ones. While these long-awaited appointments have generated optimism, they also raise a crucial question: are those currently serving as VCs equipped to address the challenges facing public-sector universities?

What are the core challenges confronting public universities in KP? To explore this, an online search was conducted using the phrase “News about Universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.” The first ten pages of search results were reviewed, yielding 52 news items published in leading national dailies between 2018 and 2025. Of these, 26 articles focused on financial crises and 14 on the delayed appointments of VCs.

Against this backdrop, it is worth examining whether the academic training of the VCs equips them to address financial challenges. While most have only recently assumed office and their performance remains to be seen, their professional preparation can still offer valuable insights. Higher education scholar Jana Nidiffer notes that leadership practice is shaped by formal training and experience. Viewed through this lens, the academic background of the VCs may serve as an important indicator of how effectively they might navigate the role's complex administrative and financial demands.

An analysis of 32 public-sector universities in KP shows that eight VCs come from natural sciences, eight from agricultural and life sciences, seven from computing and engineering sciences, and seven from social sciences. Only two have backgrounds in health and medical sciences. Notably, none of the current VCs possess academic training in administrative, management, or educational sciences -- fields often associated with institutional leadership, governance and policy implementation.

This disciplinary imbalance raises an important question: Given the challenges, does the lack of formal training in administration compromise the ability of VCs to lead effectively? A common counterargument is that VCs need not be experts in finance or administration, as these functions are handled by specialised staff such as registrars and treasurers. However, an assessment of 18 public-sector universities in KP paints a different picture. In ten universities, the registrar’s position is currently held by teaching faculty; in six by acting registrars; and only two universities have regular registrars in place. A similar trend is observed in the finance domain: in eleven universities, the role of treasurer is held by teaching faculty; in five by acting treasurers; and only two have regular appointments.

These figures indicate that institutional structures expected to compensate for a VC’s lack of administrative expertise are, in practice, weak or underdeveloped. Under the current setup, VCs have broad discretion to fill key administrative offices, often with teaching faculty. Though legally permitted, this flexibility can lead to appointments driven more by personal preferences than by administrative competence. In such an environment, the argument that specialized support staff can compensate for leadership gaps loses much of its validity. In the case of KP’s public-sector universities, it is precisely these institutional vulnerabilities that demand strong and capable leadership at the top.

It is also argued that faculty from administrative sciences or education - or experienced administrators from outside academia - are unable to compete under the eligibility criteria. Since the list of applicants is not publicly available, let us assume such candidates are indeed at a disadvantage. However, this raises a more fundamental question: should rigid criteria outweigh the pressing need to appoint genuinely equipped individuals to reform our universities?

To conclude, consider a brief ‘vilayati’story that holds a timely lesson. The full account appears in ‘Managing Crisis’ (Warner and Palfreyman, eds, pp 08-31). It concerns Dr Beven, a distinguished chemist and former VC of the University of Wales, who also served as principal of University College Cardiff (UCC). In the early 1980s, the UK’s University Grants Commission (UGC) cut funding and reduced student quotas. The UCC, which relied heavily on revenue from Nigerian students, was further destabilised when a military coup in Nigeria in 1983 led to a sharp drop in enrolments.

Despite repeated UGC warnings, Dr Beven resisted cost-cutting, choosing instead to continue expanding and accumulating deficits. He repeatedly dismissed financial assessments and dissenting voices highlighting growing risks. Eventually, in late 1987, he was placed on sabbatical until retirement. But by then, the damage was irreparable: the UCC’s deficits had become unmanageable, and the institution lost its independent identity when it was absorbed into another university in 1988.

The story is a reminder that ignoring early warnings and holding on to outdated approaches can lead to irreversible consequences. Public universities in KP and across the country, may not yet be at the point of no return. However, unless leadership selection aligns with the demands of institutional governance and reform, we risk heading down a similarly avoidable path.

The writer is an assistant professor at the Department of Economics, University of Malakand. He can be reached at: ikramullah@uom.edu.pk