LAHORE: Investigation against ‘some of the shortlisted candidates’ for the slots of vice chancellors of four public sector universities in the province has caused delay in the appointments despite submission of the recommendations of the Search Committee last month.

The ‘ongoing investigation’ against some of the recommended candidates has been initiated on the “objections of some elements in the education fraternity and that these are primarily not related to their academic credentials.”

A list of recommended candidates that has gone viral is attracting objections from various quarters whereas the people at the helm say it is ‘not genuine’.

The Vice Chancellors Search Committee has shortlisted a panel of three candidates each for the Sargodha University, the Sahiwal University, the Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering and Technology, Multan, and the Emerson University, Multan.

The committee headed by Government College University former VC Prof Dr Khalid Aftab interviewed more than 150 candidates for the slots in the four universities in question and recommended a panel of three each for them last month.

The delay in notification by the Punjab government has raised questions whether the Buzdar administration is ‘reluctant’ on some of the names proposed by the committee.

Punjab Higher Education and Information Technology Minister Raja Yassir Humayun Sarfraz told Dawn that the government had received some complaints, not of academic nature, about a few recommended candidates therefore an investigation in this respect was under way. “Besides, the routine verification of the credentials of the other recommended candidates is under way,” the minister said and added the appointments of the VCs at the four varsities might take a couple of weeks.

An official of the education department said some senior academics had raised questions about selection of ‘certain junior candidates’ who lacked the required academic and administrative experience.

Prof Dr Khalid Aftab told Dawn that the Search Committee made its recommendation after interviewing 153 candidates.

“The candidates have been given numbers by the members of the committee on the laid down criteria of suitability, not seniority,” he said.

Since the committee shortlisted the candidates for the slots, a list of recommended panels has been doing rounds on social media.

However, Dr Aftab and Higher Education Secretary Javed Iqbal Bokhari said it was ‘not genuine’.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2022