LAHORE: The Supreme Court has ordered the federal and provincial governments to ensure that vacant tenured positions at the public sector universities must not be held for more than six months on an acting-charge basis and the appointments of the regular incumbents, including the vice chancellors, be made strictly under the prescribed laws.

“Student unions be revived in universities but it must be ensured that they are inclusive and not divisive, ethnic or sectarian,” said a judgement authored by former chief justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa.

Justice Isa issued the judgement on Oct 24, his last working day, allowing a constitutional petition of All Public Universities BPS Teachers Association (APUBTA), representing about 50,000 teachers working in public universities.

Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan were the other members of the bench, headed by the former CJ, which heard the petition at the principal seat in Islamabad.

Asks Centre, provinces to make regular postings of VCs, others

The petition was filed through association’s president versus the Federation of Pakistan through Secretary Federal Education and Professional Training, Islamabad and others, including the higher educational institutions of Sindh, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The association sought a direction to ensure compliance of federal and provincial laws and the statutes of public sector universities. The petition had questioned the inordinate delay in filling the vacancies of top positions, including the VCs, at least 60 universities.

The judgement carries a set of directions to all federal and provincial public sector universities, the federal ministries of education, science and technology and defence, the provincial ministries of education, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and the provincial higher education departments (HEDs).

It said governing bodies of the universities must meet (at least) the minimum prescribed times in the laws. It said the appointments be made to all tenured positions in the universities as prescribed in their respective laws, including those of VCs, registrars, directors-general, deans, treasurers/directors of finance, controllers of examinations, chairpersons and others specified must be done transparently and on merit, by stipulating their respective criteria and inviting appointments through their respective websites and advertisements.

The judgement said the universities should not exceed the academic to non-academic staff ratio prescribed by the HEC and those universities which have exceeded the same must not hire further non-academic staff unless absolutely necessary after specific permission is granted by their respective governing bodies.

The HEC and HEDs should annually rank the universities in their respective jurisdictions pursuant to internationally recognised criteria.

The SC said a safe and harassment-free environment, free of psychotropic drugs and weapons must be ensured at the universities. The transgressors and those who destroy universities’ properties must be dealt with strictly.

It said the hostels meant for the students must not be allowed to be occupied by those who have completed their studies and by outsiders.

During the hearing, the apex court was informed that the National Fertilizer Institute of Engineering and Technology, Multan, was established in 2012 and Akhtar Ali Malik was appointed as its first VC; however, he is still holding the position for the last over six years despite the expiry of his term in 2018.

The judgement noted that the federal ministry of education and the HEC admitted that Mr Malik was illegally holding on to the position of VC but ironically demonstrated helplessness and it could not even stop the salary which he had been illegally taking since 2018. The court ordered a stoppage of all payments to him, observing that the authorities may consider recovering what he had paid to himself after completing his tenure in 2018.

It also ordered the appointment of the new VC in accordance with the applicable law and rules as soon as possible to ensure the functioning of the university.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2024