Interviews for the slots of vice chancellor (VC) in four public sector universities are in full swing, as 34 short-listed candidates were called for an interview on Thursday.
A notification issued by the Higher Education Department (HED) stated that the interviews of all candidates were held in the committee room of Government College University (GCU) Lahore.
Thursday was the second day of interviews as 23 candidates were interviewed on Wednesday when the process commenced. HED sought applications from candidates on November 4, 2015, for the office of Vice Chancellor in the University of Punjab, Lahore College for Women University (LCWU), University of Sargodha (UoS) and Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering and Technology Multan.
The members of VC’s search committee include Syed Babar Ali from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Punjab Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairperson Dr Nizam ud din, Provincial Finance Minister Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Dr Zafar Iqbal Qureshi from LUMS and HED Secretary Irfan Ali. According to sources privy to the development, a member of the search committee Ayesha Ghaus Pasha did not sit in the panel because of other official engagements.
Notable names from the list of people that were called for an interview on Thursday include Prof Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chawla, Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan, Prof Dr Nusrat Jahan, Prof Dr Bushra Khan, Prof Dr Farhat Saleemi, Prof Dr Kanwal Ameen, Prof Dr Massrat Abid, Prof Dr Shahida Hasnain, Prof Dr Uzma Qureshi, Prof Dr Rukhsana Kausar and Prof Dr Faeelat Tahira.
According to the sources, Dr Bushra Khan, Dr Farhat Saleemi, and Dr Nusrat Jahan are among the favorites for the slot of VC in Lahore College for Women University.
The incumbent acting VC of LCWU Dr Uzma Qureshi is also in the race to transform her post into a permanent affair. Dr Farhat Saleemi is currently serving as the VC of Government College Women University Sialkot and is being considered a strong candidate in the race because of her close association with her Alma Mater LCWU. Dr Nusrat Jahan is currently heading the Zoology department at Government College University Lahore and now is in the race to become the VC LCWU.
Dr Iqbal Chawla heads the University of Punjab History Department, and is serving as the Dean of Arts & Humanities.
The incumbent VC of Punjab University Dr Mujahid Kamran has also applied for the third consecutive term but he could not appear before the committee because of other official engagements. He is expected to appear in the interview on Friday (today). Other strong candidates for the slot of VC in Punjab University include Dr Taqi Zahid Butt, Prof Dr Zafar Iqbal Jadoon and Dr Mansoor Sarwar.
According to sources, HED has chosen GCU Lahore as the venue for the interviews, which will last five days. Interviews will be held until Saturday or Sunday.