Delay in notifying appointment of VCs leads to speculations

PESHAWAR: The delay in issuance of notification for appointment of vice-chancellors of eight public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa despite completion of the process some three weeks back has caused spread of speculations about the process.

Also, allegations have been leveled against a number of the candidates proposed for the top positions in different universities. The Higher Education Department (HED) has also been accused of tampering the list of candidates proposed for these institutions.

The Academic and Search Committee headed by former chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Ataur Rahman had recommended 24 candidates with a panel of three for each university after the interviews in Islamabad on November 17-18.

The HED a couple of days after the interviews moved a summary, which could not be processed further than the chief minister’s secretariat as yet, The News learnt reliably.

A senior official of the HED confirmed that the minutes of the cabinet meeting were yet to be approved and only after this was done the summary would be placed before Chief Minister Mahmud Khan for approval. One major reason for the delay said to be the workload of the chief minister’s principal secretary who is currently holding additional charge of several departments.

Other reports suggested that the summary has already been moved to the Governor’s Secretariat, who returned it with serious observations. Sources told The News that the governor observed that the actual list of candidates proposed by the Academic and Search Committee was tampered. The sources said that Prime Minister Imran Khan also took notice of the matter and the issue was discussed with Chief Minister Mahmud Khan in a meeting where the head of the Academic and Search Committee had also been called in Islamabad the other day.

It merits a mention here that 16 universities in the province have been functioning without a full time vice-chancellor. The process for appointment of only eight among them has been completed, which too is now suffering delay.

Fingers have also been pointed at some strange directives of the Academic and Search Committee, which say that only the person at the top of the list of three for each university should be appointed as the vice-chancellor. These verbal directives if followed would slash the role of the chief minister.

There are allegations against the candidate shortlisted as the leading candidate for the University of Peshawar. He is accused of sexual harassment, being too junior for the post and already serving as chairman Pakistan Science Society. In the case of sexual harassment, he has even been convicted and has paid a fine of Rs100,000. However, he says his conviction was quashed by the president of Pakistan.Similar allegations have been made against the top candidate proposed for Bacha Khan University in Charsadda. He is also accused of sexual harassment.

The name recommended for Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan is also facing serious allegations of tampering his teaching record and making decisions in his own favour while serving as acting vice-chancellor of the same university. Above all, a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) reference has been approved against him.

Fingers have also been pointed at the candidate shortlisted as top candidate for the vice-chancellor of the Swabi University. It is also alleged that the entire panel for this specific university was changed. Some of the recommended candidates are also facing charges of plagiarism and academic dishonesty.