Shia students’ strike to mark PU VC interviews

The Punjab government would interview 15 educationists against the vacancy of Punjab University’s permanent vice chancellor (VC) on Monday (today) while the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) has rejected 15 applicants on not meeting the HED criteria, amid strong protests by the PU Shia against the invitation to pro-Jamaat-e-Islami and Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba (IJT) candidates for the slot, Pakistan Today learnt on Sunday. HED Secretary Dr Ejaz Munir said that the interviews will be done in two days and in this week, a summary for the final candidate will be sent to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Shrif.
A strong criticism was noted against the HED on inviting a third-division holder for an interview for the VC slot, while the PU Shia students have announced a protest on Monday (today) outside the Civil Secretariat today.For the position, 30 candidates had applied, including five VCs of public and private universities. However, 15 candidates would be interviewed by the search committee responsible for appointing VCs in Punjab’s public universities. The search committee is comprised of Lahore University of Management Sciences Pro Chancellor Syed Babar Ali, Beaconhouse National University (BNU) VC Sertaj Aziz, University of Engineering and Technology (UET) VC Lt Gen Akram Chaudhry, Higher Education Secretary Dr Ejaz Munir and Additional Chief Secretary Nadeem Hassan Asif.
The 15 candidates to be interviewed, include current PU VC Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, former PU Institute of Communication Studies (ICS) dean and director Professor Dr Mughees-ud-din Sheikh, Karakarum International University Gilgit Biltstan VC Professor Dr Najma Najam, former PU Institute of Administrative Sciences (IAS) director Dr Zafar Ali Jadoun, National Textile University (NTU) Faisalabad VC Dr Niaz Ahmad, former PU registrar Dr Naeem Ahmad, Garrison University Lahore VC Dr Jamil Anwer, former PU professor Dr Nayer Raza Zaidi, former PU controller Dr Taqi Zahid Butt, former Board of Intermediary and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore chairman Dr Zakriya Butt, PU Institute of Business Administration head Dr Ihsan Malik, PU Institute of Business and Information Technology Head Dr Mansoor Sarwar, University of Sargodha VC Dr Chaudhry Akram and former Center for High Energy Physics (CHEP) head Professor Dr Fazl-e-Alim.
According to the HED sources, the rejected candidates include third-division holders and those found to have been involved in moral corruption. The VC would be selected according to the marks achieved out of 100. The total includes 40 marks for the interview, 25 marks for the PhD degree, 5 additional marks for having a PhD degree from a foreign country, 15 marks for administrative experience and 15 marks for teaching experience. According to an HED official, the Punjab government was falling back on its promise of appointing a competent and deserving candidate as among the candidates called for the interviews, there were individuals with third divisions and allegedly involved in involve in sexual harassment cases, sectarian clashes and moral and financial corruption.