Students look towards Mamnoon Hussain to save an institution

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of students of once a prestigious university are looking towards President Mamnoon Hussain for justice with only one demand; the president of the university (an office equivalent to vice chancellor) should be appointed on merit and after due process as recommended by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) instead of making any direct appointment.

The International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) was once regarded as an important institution of learning, but its image has declined sharply during the last six years with the HEC closing down some programmes of this leading university as the management failed to fulfil some basic requirements of the said degree programmes.

A board of trustees (BoT) headed by the President of Pakistan is set to take the issue of the appointment of the president of the IIUI tomorrow (Thursday). Around a 50-member BoT also include federal secretaries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Education, secretary to the President of Pakistan, chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) and others.

One side of officers of the university however insists that the university affairs are being run as per its ordinance and the university is giving good results and producing quality graduates.

According to this group of officers, there are always some problems in administrative affairs, but overall performance of the university remained better during last six years as compared to past years. They maintain that any deficiencies would be addressed and all programmes will be back on track soon. The nomenclature in administrative structure of the IIUI is bit different than other public sector universities as per IIUI Ordinance, 1985, No. XXX of 1985.

The Rector in the IIUI is ceremonial head of the university with general control and supervision over the affairs of the university, whereas the president of the university is the chief executive, academic and administrative officer of the university, equalling the position of vice chancellor in other universities. The president IIUI is the vice chancellor of the university and it was clearly mentioned in the position advertisement of the president of the IIUI in 2012.

Previously, in 2012, to ensure competitive process, a search committee was constituted and position of the president (vice chancellor) IIUI was duly advertised. Fifty-one candidates had applied for the said post and 10 candidates were shortlisted in 2012. Nine candidates had appeared in the interview and three names were recommended by the search committee. However, recommendations of the committee were simply ignored because of political reasons.

The six years tenure granted to the current president IIUI is expiring on 30th June, 2018. In addition to other agenda items, the appointment of the president for next four years will also come into discussion during the BoT meeting. However, so far, neither a search committee has been announced nor the post has been advertised nationally or internationally, to initiate the competitive process.

This situation has depressed thousands of the students of the university as well as the academic and administrative staff keeping in view the situation and the decline they faced during last few years. Demanding that the appointment be made on merit and after following due process as per recommendations of the HEC is a genuine demand but at present apparently the baboos are dominating everything.

Positions of heads of all universities and HEC have been advertised in March 2018, except the position of president IIUI. It includes VCs of Allama Iqbal Open University, Quaid-i-Azam University, Chairman Higher Education Commission, and so much so Rector IIUI; nonetheless, the position of president IIUI has gravely been politicised. Interestingly, the tenure of president IIUI is ending much earlier than others; i.e. June 30, 2018.

According to the students and senior staff of this important institution, only merit-based appointments can save the IIUI from a further devastation. The extension culture has already caused irreparable loss to higher education in Pakistan and there is dire need to create opportunities for dynamic and eminent personalities to lead the higher education sector. Students of the university are of the view that merit-based and transparent mechanism can prevent further destruction of this esteemed institute of Islamic and international stature. It is only possible if the appointment process is ensured to be merit-based and free from political and external interventions.