PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has suspended the appointment of an acting registrar to the Kohat University of Science and Technology (Kust) from the teaching cadre by the pro-vice chancellor.

It, however, allowed the pre-VC to appoint any officer as the registrar on an acting charge basis from the administrative cadre.

A bench consisting of Chief Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim and Justice Wiqar Ahmad issued notices to the higher education secretary and the Kust administration, giving them a fortnight’s time to file comments on a petition against the re-appointment of the acting registrar by the pro-VC for three months.

It fixed Oct 2 for next hearing into the petition of former Kust registrar Dr Mohammad

Tariq Jan, who is presently serving as the director at the university’s Office of Research Innovation & Commercialisation (ORIC).

Asks govt, Kust to respond to petition on matter

He requested the court to declare illegal and in violation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act the impugned order issued on Jul 1, 2024, of re-appointing the chairman department of Botany, Dr Imran Ali, as acting registrar.

The petitioner has sought directives of the court for the respondents including the secretary higher education and pre-VC of the university to act in accordance with the provisions of the KP Universities Act.

Counsel for the petitioner Aamir Javed said that after the expiry of tenures of the VCs of various public sector universities, the higher education secretary issued letters on Dec 12, 2023, and March 21, 2024, directing the pro-VCs of those universities to restrict themselves to managing day-to-day affairs instead of taking any major administrative or financial decisions.

He said that on March 28, 2024, the pro-VC transferred the petitioner from the post of registrar and Dr Imran was assigned the acting charge of the said post.

He said that feeling aggrieved of the said order the petitioner had challenged it in the high court.

The lawyer added that the high court while dismissing that petition had observed that no case for the indulgence of this court

was made out since the appointment of Dr Imran had been made for a period of three months and the second proviso to Section 13(2) of the Universities Act provided that the post of registrar could be filled on the acting and dual charge basis for a period of three months.

He said that the pro-VC continued to issue orders which were not only administrative but had also financial implications as well.

The counsel added said the chancellor, who was the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, issued directives to the higher education secretary on April 15 to halt

the process of appointing teachers to administrative positions in

public sector universities and higher education institutions insisting the practice contravenes Section 17-A of the Universities Act.

Mr Javed said that the pro-VC, in utter violation of repeated directions from the government, the chancellor and unambiguous language of Section 17-A of the Universities Act issued another office order on July 1 whereby Dr Imran was once again assigned acting charge of the post of registrar for another period of three months.

He argued that the appointment of a teacher as acting registrar was arbitrary and illegal.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024