Sindh PA allowed administrative powers to CM, SHC told

KARACHI: The provincial assembly empowered the Chief Minister of Sindh through passage of the Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Act 2018 to apply certain administrative powers in the universities, the Sindh government told the Sindh High Court on Tuesday.

Filing comments on a petition challenging the last year’s amendments in the Universities Act which granted the chief minister broad control over public sector universities taking them away from the Sindh governor. In its response, the government submitted that the universities frequently interact with government departments for resolution of issues due to which the provincial assembly bestowed certain powers to the chief minister under the Universities Act. It said the new amendment has set a criterion for the appointment and removal of the vice chancellors. The law officer submitted that previously there was a lacunae in the previous law and the VC could not be removed even if found involved in cases of gross misconduct, inefficiency and corruption. The amendment also granted the employees of the universities the status of government servants. The court adjourned the hearing till November 5 for rejoinder by the petitioner.

Earlier, NGO Pasban, through its President Altaf Shakoor, had challenged Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws (Amendment) Act 2018 on the grounds that it granted administrative powers of the universities to the chief minister, taking them away from the governor.

The petitioner submitted that due to the new amendment, 24 public sector universities in the province have been affected allowing political and bureaucratic interference in the affairs of the universities. The new amendment, Pasban said has snatched the autonomy of the institutions of higher education with the induction of bureaucrats “for fulfilling the whims and desires of the government.”

The Pasban submitted that the PPP unlawfully passed the impugned amendments without a full quorum and fulfilling the lawful and constitutional formalities. The petitioner pleaded that the new law has changed the functions of the academic councils which formulated admission policies. Moreover, under the law, now the vice chancellors cannot take administrative decisions to run the day-to-day affairs of the universities and even appointments made by VCs will be subject to the approval of the CM and a bureaucratic body. He said the new law has been rejected by the university teachers and staff.