Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has reappointed Dr Mukhtar Ahmed as chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) even though the latter has little to show for his efforts towards promotion of academic excellence and quality research to reduce knowledge deficit.
Instead, he seems to be interested more in power and control to please his political superiors, courting unnecessary controversy in the process. The All Public Universities BPS Teachers Association has been up in arms, accusing him of resorting to repressive means to stop them from raising legitimate professional issues.
Last year, Dr Ahmed went out of his way to take exception to celebration of Hindu festival Holy at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, issuing a directive to all higher education institutions to “distance themselves” from “activities incompatible with the country’s identity and societal values.”
He had to backtrack, though, after the directive raised a storm of criticism on social media, including the National Assembly Speaker’s post demanding reversal of the “illegal and unconstitutional decision of the HEC” failing which the Parliament would actively pursue the matter.
More importantly, no less a personage than the Federal Minister of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal in a detailed letter to the PM dated July 31 listed several substantive reasons why the incumbent having held key positions since 2004 should not be given yet another extension.
Despite repeated extensions, read the letter, the promised outcomes have not materialised, and he (Dr Ahmed) bears significant responsibility for the sector’s “malaise”. Explained the minister “the recruitment to senior positions in HEC were made based on nepotism”, and that there are numerous examples of compromised HEC actions, such as unjust team-building processes and whimsical resource allocations.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the HEC had failed to conceive and implement strategic projects like the US-Pakistan Knowledge Corridor and make the University Performance Audits effective. Meanwhile, universities across the provinces suffer from lack of resources, poor governance, and inadequate monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, he said in the letter, there is a clear federal and provincial disconnect in the higher education sector as well as among the research community.
Many familiar with the working of the HEC under Dr Ahmad would be nodding in agreement on every point the letter contains, and would also want to join the minister in urging the PM to take “prompt action to safeguard the future of higher education in Pakistan.”
But the PM has remained unmoved. A week after receiving the well-argued and fair request to constitute a high-level search committee to identify and appoint a capable chairman and senior team members on merit, the PM decided to ignore all concerns raised by a senior member of his cabinet and retained the incumbent. He owes an explanation if not to minister Ahsan Iqbal then to the people what makes Dr Ahmed so indispensible for the HEC. Why, indeed?
Eqbal Ahmed
Lahore
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024