ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Subcommittee on Education was told on Monday that appointment of full-time vice chancellors (VCs) in 23 public sector universities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) hit a snag owing to ongoing political interference and differences between the governor and chief minister of the province.
The second subcommittee meeting was held on Monday in Higher Education Commission (HEC), which was presided over by its convener Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam. The members of the subcommittee also came very hard on what they said the inefficiency of the HEC.
The committee also summoned all the public sector VCs of the four provinces in the next meeting to deliberate upon the critical issue.
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The Director Administration and Media HEC, Tariq Iqbal, while briefing the subcommittee, cited political tussle between the chief minister and governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the primary reason behind the long delays in VCs appointment.
According to the HEC statistics, there are a total of 32 universities in the public sector of the KPK, of which, only nine institutions are having regular VCs. Additionally, 21 universities are being run on ad hoc basis.
PPP MNA Agha Rafiullah expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the HEC, stating, there are thousands of educational degrees pending unverified. According to details, over 30,000 applicants are awaiting the attestation of their degrees.
Agha Rafiullah remarked that the HEC was wasting public money but doing nothing for higher education, suggesting drastic measures needed for reforms. Another member of the committee, Sabeen Ghauri pointed finger at the HEC’s failure to provide satisfactory answers.
HEC Consultant Dr Anwarul Hasan Gilani emphasized the critical role of vice chancellors in transforming universities and called for a non-political and timely appointment process.
He said that besides Punjab and KPK, Sindh comparably performed well in appointment of regular VCs of the public universities. The subcommittee also summoned all provincial secretaries, HEC heads, and directors for the next meeting to discuss solutions. Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam said that the committee would also like to listen from provinces about their proposed suggestions.
The committee also sought detailed records of students studying abroad from the HEC.
The HEC DG Dr Amjad emphasised the importance of appointing qualified teachers and upgrading college laboratories. He, however, linked the failure rate in competitive CSS exams to two-year bachelor’s degree holders and proposed restricting CSS eligibility to four-year graduates.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025