PM forms panel for appointment of HEC chairperson

KARACHI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday established a six-member search committee for the appointment of chairperson of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

In this regard, a formal notification has been issued and Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer has been appointed as the convener of the search committee, while Naheed Shah Durrani, Secretary Ministry of Education and Professional Training, as secretary/member of the committee. The committee’s members include Justice (retd) Sheikh Ahmed Farooq, Chairman Punjab Red Crescent, Dr. Omar Saif, former chairman Punjab Information Technology Board, Dr Ziaul Qayyum, Vice Chancellor Allama Iqbal Open University, and Ahmed Farooq Bazai, Vice Chancellor, Balochistan University of Engineering Information Technology.

The committee will examine and shortlist applications as per advertised criteria under Section 3 of the Higher Education Commission Ordinance, 2002, and propose a panel of at least three suitable/ eligible candidates for interview and get approval by the controlling authority. The committee will also propose guidelines to assess the relevant qualifications and experience of the candidates. There is no age limit for the post of chairman HEC; however the candidates were given only four days to submit their applications.

HEC Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri’s four-year term ended on May 28. The tenure of chairman HEC has been reduced from four years to two years because of dismissal of Dr Tariq Banuri.

Dr Tariq Banuri was removed from the office but 10 months later, the Islamabad High Court had reinstated him, due to which he was able to complete his four-year term but had to stay out of HEC for 10 months. He has also written a letter to the prime minister to restore this remaining period. The Ministry of Education and Vocational Training had issued an advertisement for the appointment of new chairman HEC on last Sunday, in which the term of the chairman has been fixed for two years, while the last date for the submission of applications was May 26.