LAHORE: Governor Baligur Rehman is reportedly not signing a summary of the Punjab government regarding giving an additional charge of the Punjab University vice chancellor to Government College University (GCU) head Prof Dr Asghar Zaidi apparently to ‘appease’ his (governor’s) party leadership.

The three-month extension of PU VC Prof Dr Niaz ended on Friday but the additional charge of the office could not be given to Prof Zaidi because Mr Rehman, who is the chancellor of the varsities in the province, appears reluctant to sign the summary.

“The governor should have signed the summary by now as he has no reason to delay the process,” Punjab Higher Education Minister Raja Yasir Hamayun Sarfraz told Dawn on Friday. He said Prof Zaidi had been selected from among the three serving VCs for the additional charge of the PU head till the period a regular VC was appointed.

“The government had sent the summary about 10 days ago. The provincial government will notify Prof Zaidi’s appointment (acting PU VC) once the mandatory period allowing the chancellor to take the decision is over and the summary will be approved by the competent authority/chief minister and cabinet,” the minister said.

Raja Yasir said: “We want a VCs’ Search Committee headed by former minister Shafqat Mahmood to shortlist candidates for the regular PU VC slot. A summary to give mandate to this search committee has been sent to the cabinet for approval.”

Mahmoodul Hasan, additional secretary (universities) at the Governor House Secretariat, was not available for comment.

Prof Zaidi told Dawn that he was looking forward to overseeing the day-to-day affairs of the PU till a full-time head took charge. “It’s an honour to have the additional charge of the PU VC and the varsity should not be left without a head (as Dr Niaz’s tenure ended on Friday),” he said.

The PML-N-led federal government took issue with Prof Zaidi following ousted prime minister Imran Khan’s hard-hitting speech targeting his political opponents, especially PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz, at the GCU Oval ground last month.

In a tweet, PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz had said: “Strict action must be taken against the GCU VC for desecrating an educational institution by lending it to a Fitna & organising his jalsa on the premises. Using a seat of learning for political hate-mongering is a crime that should not go unpunished.”

Even Federal Education Minister Rana Tanvir Hussain and Governor Baligur Rehman jumped into the controversy and supported their leader (Maryam). The federal government removed Dr Zaidi from the VCs’ Search Committee.

The GCU VC was quick to remind his detractors that in known universities around the world, students got the opportunity to hear all kinds of political views from the varsity forum.

“The varsities have the right to be engaged in the political debate of the time. The world over, political leaders come to universities to address youth, and we don’t discriminate on the basis whether they are in the government or in the opposition,” Prof Zaidi said.

Meanwhile, a 24-member committee has been constituted to look after the affairs of the PU after the retirement of Dr Niaz.

Dr Amjad Magsi, secretary Punjab University Academic Staff Association, said: “This committee has been constituted by Dr Niaz without any legal cover. The committee has no legal backing and is not supported by any provision of the 1973 Act of Punjab University.”

He said as per the Act, the Syndicate was the executive body of the university, and not such a committee.

Meanwhile, some members of the PU Syndicate and Academic Staff Association have written to CM Parvez Elahi, informing him that a committee was constituted to recommend the appointment of the PU VC in June last.

“This committee is headed by a sitting VC (non-PhD and an engineer). A sitting VC has never been appointed even as a member of the PU VC Search Committee. One of the members resigned from the committee and instead of reconstituting the remaining members of the committee decided to continue functioning. In its current form, two of the four members of the committee are engineers and the committee is still without a pure academician.

“It is a matter of concern for the PU academic community that Dr Niaz, who also happens to be the vice chairman of the Pakistan Engineering Council, may influence his professional colleagues on the committee,” it says and requested the CM to stop this committee from working and constitute an impartial one to ensure the fair selection of the PU VC.

Dr Amjad Magsi said the general body of the association had raised “serious concerns about the deteriorating financial, academic, and security situation” at the university during a meeting here on Friday.

“The teaching faculty is of the view that the policies of the administration have badly affected the PU’s interests over the past four years. The hasty and persons-specific restructuring and expansion have actually spoiled the university’s resources and created deep disbelief in the community.”

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2022