PESHAWAR: The high-powered academic search committee on Wednesday began holding interviews for the appointment of vice-chancellors to 16 public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The interviews will continue for five days in Islamabad.

The higher education department has convened 160 candidates for interviews on different days.

Former member of the Planning Commission Prof Kauser A Malik is chairman and convener of the academic search committee.

Other members are Prof Emeritus Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad Prof M Aslam Baig, former VC of the Haripur University Prof Anwarul Hassan Gillani, former VC of the Khyber Medical University Prof Mohammad Hafizullah, Rector at Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Muhammad Mujahid.

While HED secretary Arshed Khan has been performing his duty as secretary of the committee.

The academic search committee will appoint vice chancellors at the vacant seats of 16 public sector universities including Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, University of Agriculture Dera Ismail Khan, Women University Swabi, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Swat, University of Engineering and Applied Sciences Swat, Abbottabad University, University of Shangla, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak, University of Lakki Marwat, University of Engineering and Technology Mardan, Hazara University Mansehra, University of Peshawar, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan and Agriculture University Peshawar, University of Buner, University of Chitral and FATA University.

Out of total universities currently working without VCs, around 12 of them were functioning without VC for around one year while couple of them for the last few months, sources in HED told Dawn.

Previously, sources said, the academic search committee was headed by noted educationist and former Higher Education Commission chairman Prof Dr Attaur Rehman. In November, Mr Rehman resigned from the committee as protest over the repeated cancelation of the date for interviews of candidates for the posts of the vice chancellors.

Other two members of the committee including Prof Arif Nazir Butt and Prof Dr Iqbal Chaudhry had also resigned along with Mr Rehman.

Prior to resignation of Mr Rehman, sources said that HED had convened the meeting couple of times for conducting interviews but each time it was cancelled on the directives of the KP Governor Ghulam Ali, who also serving as chancellor of the public sector universities.

With the resignation of Prof Attaur Rehman, the appointment of VCs was further delayed as the new convener of the committee Prof Kauser A Malik’s appointment took over a month.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2021, has empowered the committee to conduct interviews of the candidates for the post of vice chancellors and recommend to the government a panel of three persons for selection of a VC from each panel.

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.”

After the completion of interviews and finalisation of lists, the committee will recommend a panel of three names for every university to the government to choose one as the VC.

The HED will move that panel for each university to the chief minister for recommending one of them to the governor KP for appointment.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2024