LAHORE: Three public sector universities have surrendered to the Punjab Higher Education Department the services of 139 teaching and non-teaching staff working on deputation.

The move follows an HED order to public sector universities to surrender college cadre by June 30 otherwise the department would not release funds for their salaries. Of them,115 were working with the Lahore College for Women University, nine with the Government College University and 15 with the University of Education. According to a senior official, colleges across Punjab needed 22,000 teachers but only 14,000 were available. Similarly, the HED faced a shortage of around 9,000 non-teaching staff.

Around 1,000 teaching and non-teaching staff have been working on deputation in different public sector universities for the last 19 years, with the HED paying their salaries. In this situation, the department would have to recruit College Teaching Interns (CTIs) to complete the course work.

The official said quality of education was deteriorating in colleges for want of staff.

He said 21 teaching and non-teaching staff were working with the Government College University Faisalabad, 105 with Women University Faisalabad, 41 with Sargodha University, 56 with Women University Multan, 38 with Women University Sialkot, 36 with Sadiq Women University Bahawalpur, 56 with Ghazi University Dera Ghazi Khan and five with University of Gujarat.

HED Secretary Nadeem Mahbub told Dawn all universities were autonomous bodies and had the liberty to take administrative decisions.He said the universities would have to recruit their own staff and pay them. He said some of the universities had retained employees from the college cadre since 2002.

“Now they have been given three months to surrender the college cadre.” The HED secretary said the universities could still absorb or retain these employees by paying them from their budget.

About the staff to be surrendered by the universities, he said all such employees would be given opportunity to work in the same city.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2021