PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday appointed regular vice-chancellors to seven public sector universities for a period of three years.

The higher education department has issued separate notifications for the appointment of all VCs.

Acting VC of the Khyber Medical University Peshawar Prof Ziaul Haq has been made the regular VC of the university. He is the youngest VC among the vice-chancellors and dean of the faculty of public health and social sciences at the Khyber Medical University.

Prof Ziaul Haq, 41, had been serving in the KMU as the acting VC from July 17, 2020. He is the first VC to be selected from the KMU. Before him, his all three VCs of the KMU were clinical professors and were appointed from outside the varsity.

A tenured professor at the Department of Pharmacy of the Quaid-i-Azam University, Prof Gul Majid Khan was made the VC of Islamia College University Peshawar.

Through the same notification issued for that appointment, the HED also relieved Prof Jehan Bakht from the additional charge as the ICU VC. Jehan Bakht is also the VC of the Agriculture University Peshawar.

Sources in the higher education department told Dawn that Prof Jehan Bakht was on top of the panel of tree candidates proposed for the appointment of the ICU VC.

However, authorities at the helm of affairs preferred to appoint the second candidate in row on the list Prof Gul Majid to Jehan Bakht as his appointment will leave the Agriculture University Peshawar without VC.

Similarly, dean of the faculty of Crop Production Sciences, University of Agriculture, Prof Zahir Shah was made appointed VC to the University of Chitral. Prof Amin Badshah was made the VC of the University of Buner. Previously, Mr Badshah worked as the professor emeritus at the department of chemistry of the Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad.

Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Peshawar, Prof Mohammad Jahanzeb Khan was appointed the VC to the Fata University Dara Adamkhel and Prof Ghazala Yasmeen the VC of the Women University Mardan for the second time.

Previously, she worked as the VC of the Women’s University Mardan for three years.

Prof Mohammad Mujaid of the Pakistan-Austria Fachhochschle Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology, Haripur, was rector of the institution.

The HED notified the appointment of VCs after approval by the provincial cabinet.

The academic search committee for the appointment of vice-chancellors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had recommended a panel of three candidates for each university.

The academic search committee led by noted scientist and former federal minister for science and technology Dr Attaur Rehman had conducted interviews of candidates in Islamabad on January 28, 29 and 30.

According to sources, initially 53 candidates had applied for the vacant post of VC Islamia College University out of which 15 were shortlisted for interview while 21 candidates were shortlisted out of 70 candidates applied for Chitral University in the initial scrutiny.

For the University of Fata, sources said, 36 candidates had applied for the post of VC and of them, 15 were shortlisted. A total of 25 candidates had applied for Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Haripur and 10 of them were shortlisted.

Only three candidates were shortlisted of nine for Khyber Medical University, while five were shortlisted of the six candidates for the Women University Mardan.

Section 12 of the law states, “The Vice-Chancellor shall be appointed by the Chancellor on the advice of Government from a panel of three candidates recommended by the Academic search committee.” If the chancellor is not agreed with the advice given to him by the chief minister, the farmer could return the panel of the shortlisted candidates for reconsideration to the later once within 15 days.

The chancellor has to act on the advice tendered after the reconsideration within 10 days.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2021