Vice Chancellors’ appointment

The standard criteria of merit-cum-fitness have been abandoned for the appointment of Vice Chancellors in the public sector universities since the devolution of higher education to provinces in 2010 under 18th Amendment. Political affiliations were a norm for the appointment on this coveted post in the first and last ANP government in 2008-13.

The previous PTI government invented a procedure of search committee to make selection from among the panel of three candidates but still the unhealthy culture of appointments on the basis of political affiliations and strong connections with the heavy weights ruling political figures remains the order of day.

The procedure which is being followed for the appointments Vice Chancellors cause abnormal delay to fill in these important administrative posts. That is why Khyber Pukhtunkhwa government is facing difficulty to pick and choose political favorites from among the 54 shortlisted candidates to be appointed as Vice Chancellors of 8 universities.

The political appointees then oblige their political masters by recruiting hundreds of employees for which sanctioned posts do not exist in the universities. It explains the current financial crisis of a number of public sector universities. Now the public sector universities cannot create regular faculty positions and are compelled to hire visiting faculty. Will the political interference in public sector universities be stopped for improving the quality of education?