Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif conducted the interviews of the short-listed educationists for the posts of the vice chancellor (VC) for six public sector universities at the Pearl Continental Hotel on Wednesday. He directed the officials to expedite the process of VCs’ appointment for three universities out of six.
The Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) advertised for the posts four months ago and short-listed 50 top educationists following the criteria of the Search Committee, two months ago. The summary was sent to the CM, who conducted the interviews of the short-listed candidates, which include former Punjab University’s pro-VC and Garrison University VC Dr Jameel Anwer, former PU Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS) director Dr Zafer Ali Jadoun, BISE Lahore Chairman Dr Akram Kashmiri, former University of Engineering and Technology (UET) professor and UET Kala Shah Kaku Coordinator Dr Saif Ahmad and UET Physics Department Head Dr Khaliqur Rehman.
These interviews mark the final stage for the VCs’ recruitment and according to sources, after selection by the CM, a summary will be sent to the Punjab governor for final approval. Government College University (GCU) Lahore, University of Education (UOE) Lahore, University of Sargodha, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) Multan, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and Fatima Jinnah Women University Rawalpindi await the appointment of regular VCs.
The candidates CM interviewed say that it was not a formal interview, while an HED official disclosed that these interviews were conducted for the appointment of VCs in GCU, BZU and UOE. The HED official said that it had been ‘decided’ that Dr Ikram would take the VC’s charge in Sargodha University and a summary had been sent to the CM in this regard, while LCWU and FJ Rawalpinidi’s fate had not been decided yet.
According to sources, the interviews were conducted by the CM for his ‘satisfaction’ as he was concerned after some ‘elements’ raised concerns about the status of the Search Committee. He said that technically the Punjab governor was responsible for conducting the interviews and he could reject the names recommended by the CM after highlighting the reasons for rejection as well. He said that after the 18th Amendment, the VCs’ interviews were being conducted like this for the first time and the situation was thus ‘confusing’ on various levels.
Educationists argued over the academic performance of candidates short-listed for the posts. Most of the educationists supported Dr Jamil Anwer, Dr Zafer Ali Jadoun and Dr Akram Kashmiri for the positions and said that they had a good academic record and were well reputed among educationists.
