Shahbaz approves VCs for eight universities

LAHORE
The Punjab government has finalised vice-chancellors (VCs) for eight out of 10 public sector universities of the province, advertised earlier this year, and they will enjoy a term of two years each unlike traditional four-year tenure, it is reliably learnt.
The names of these VCs were approved by the Governor/ Chancellor on the advice of the Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The VCs for rest of the two varsities would be finalised later. The chief minister approved to reduce the tenure of these VCs from four to two years.
Sources in the CM Secretariat informed The News that name of Dr Hassan Amir Shah has been approved for the Government College University (GCU) Lahore, Dr Rauf-i-Azam for the University of Education Lahore, Dr Sarah Shahed for Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), Dr Tahir Amin for Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan, Dr Muhammad Khalique Ahmed for The Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan, Dr Talat Afza for Government Sadiq College Women University, Bahawalpur, Dr Samina Amin Qadir for Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) Rawalpindi and Dr Athar Mahboob for Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering & Information Technology, Rahimyar Khan.
The sources further said after approval the summary had been sent back to the Higher Education Department to formally notify the appointments. They added the department would issue notification of appointment of these eight VCs in a couple of days after a minor amendment in Acts/Ordinances of these varsities to reduce the tenure of VCs to two years from existing four years.
The sources privy to the developments also disclosed that the CM had recently formed a high-powered committee for the performance assessment of the incumbent VC of the University of Sargodha Dr Muhammad Akram Ch whose tenure would expire on October 9, 2015. The committee spent a busy day at the varsity on Tuesday and it is learnt it will submit its recommendations to the chief minister by next week.
They added the post (that of VC University of Sargodha) might be re-advertised along with the post of VC Punjab University (PU) where Dr Mujahid Kamran will complete his tenure on January 22, 2016. About the other remaining varsity, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering & Information Technology, Multan the sources said the CM was not satisfied with the panel of three candidates forwarded by the VC Search Committee and this post might also be advertised.
It is pertinent to mention here that the posts of VCs of all these ten varsities were advertised in early April this year while the VC Search Committee had completed interviews of the candidates and submitted its recommendations in mid-May. At one stage it was decided to re-advertise all the ten posts as some members of the VC Search Committee were not satisfied with the shortlisted candidates and the same was conveyed to the CM.
However, one of the members of the committee, Dr Muhammad Nizamuddin, who is Chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC), succeeded in convincing the chief minister to continue with the process since a huge exercise was carried out. It was in this backdrop the chief minister invited a panel of three candidates for each varsity and himself interviewed the panellists on July 16. When contacted, Secretary Higher Education Department Punjab Mrs Irum Bukhari confirmed that the department had received back the summary from the CM Secretariat. She however refused to comment further.