EDITORIAL: Young people are supposed to acquire knowledge and skills that drive-socio-economic progress of societies in universities efficiently run by individuals with exceptional capabilities. But the job in public sector universities in this country gets scant attention. Hearing a petition on Wednesday moved by the All-Public Universities BPS Teachers Association (APUBTA) a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by chief justice Qazi Faez Isa was informed that as many as 66 out of total 154 public sector higher education institutes (HEIs) had no tenured vice chancellor or rector.
According a report submitted before the court by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), in Punjab out of 49 HEIs 29 had acting VCs; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) the number was 16 out of 32; likewise in Baluchistan half of the 10 universities’ VCs were functioning on an ad hoc basis. In Sindh, however, 24 out of 29 universities were being run by regular VCs.
It is no coincidence that academic and administrative officers of so many institutions of higher learning across the country should be appointed on an open-ended ad hoc basis or an additional charge handed to some other individuals. Clearly, it does not matter to the authorities concerned if this arrangement adversely affects the academic environment as VCs play a vital role in all decision-making bodies.
There, of course, is no shortage of well qualified candidates, but they are ignored since at play is a deliberate policy to control the universities through pliable individuals at the cost of merit. An interesting case emerged when a KP law officer told the court that three names for each university were sent to the governor but not made public. At which the Chief Justice quipped, “would this be a violation of nuclear codes or the Official Secrets Act?”, adding that the whole country would be fine if the education sector was streamlined.
The bench has directed the HEC to furnish at the next hearing complete data regarding ratio of academic to administrative staff (as per the HEC guidelines it should be 1:1.5) as well as vacant seats of director finance and examination controller. Furthermore, it has been asked to report the proportion of funds the universities generate themselves and the amount they receive from the respective provincial governments and in the case of Islamabad from the federal government.
Our rulers’ urge to control is the antithesis of what the universities are meant to be: places which encourage critical thinking and equip students with knowledge to make contribution to all fields of national endeavour, including culture, science and technology. That can happen only if all appointments to academic and administrative offices are made on merit, sufficient funds are made available to them, and also curriculums are brought in line with the needs of a forward-looking society. Hopefully, the court’s intervention will help set things in the right direction.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024