Search committees for VCs notified

LAHORE: Higher Education Department (HED) Punjab on Friday notified search committee for vice-chancellors of four public sector universities of the province with considerable representation from the private sector.

According to documents available with The News, the Search Committee for the University of Home Economics comprises Prof Dr Mira Phailbus, former principal of Kinnaird College, as convener and members are Sajida Haider Vandal, former principal of National College of Arts (NCA), Nighat Yawar Ali, director of Lahore Grammar School and Seema Aziz of Care Foundation.

The HED Punjab Secretary will serve as member and secretary of the search committee for each university. The Search Committee for the University of Jhang comprises Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi, chairman, Accreditation Committee Punjab, as convener while the members are Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin, chairman, Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), Dr Mira Phailbus and Seema Aziz. The Search Committee for the University of Sargodha comprises Dr Umar Saif, Adviser to Chief minister and chairman of Punjab Information Technology Board and VC of Information Technology University (ITU), as the convener while the members are Nighat Yawar Ali, Lt-Gen (Retd) Muhammad Akram Khan, former VC of UET, Lahore and Prof Dr Khalid Manzoor Butt, chairperson, Department of Political Science, Government College University, Lahore.

Similarly, the Search Committee for Women University, Multan, comprises Nighat Yawar Ali as the convener while the members are Sajida Haider Vandal, Salima Hashmi, former principal of NCA and Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi.

The search committees would follow the procedure and criteria for selection of panel for appointment of the VCs of the universities. Each search committee will be for a term of two years.

It is pertinent to mention here that during the proceedings of a suo motu of law education on January 20 this year, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar had expressed annoyance over the non-appointment of regular VCs in eight public sector universities of Punjab. Following this, the HED Punjab submitted that the department would publish advertisement for the posts of VCs of University of Home Economics, University of Sahiwal, University of Jhang and Women University, Multan, approximately in three weeks time. The remaining four universities for which the search committees would be notified soon are: Punjab University, ITU Lahore, Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan and University of Okara.

Our correspondent adds: University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Alliance Française Lahore (AFL) and French Consulate to establish a branch of Alliance Française on the university premises to facilitate the students interested in French language and higher studies in France. Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, French Ambassador in Pakistan Dr Marc Baréty and Alliance Française Lahore President Shaukat Hassan signed the MoU here at UVAS.