The Punjab government has planned to abolish the position of pro-chancellor in all public sector universities to relief the vice chancellors, local media reports have informed.
The provision for the pro-chancellor’s designation was included in the Universities Charter 2012, which also provides for inclusion of three provincial assembly members as Syndicate members. However, under a new charter, designed by the Punjab government, the provincial higher education minister chaired the varsities Syndicate meetings. The purpose of placing public representatives on the varsities Syndicate is to ensure supervision of the affairs of these institutions being funded through tax-payers’ money.
At least nine public sector varsities are working under 2012 charter.
In a recent Tweet, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar expressed his dissatisfaction over the situation.
According to sources, the introduction of the Universities Charter 2012 led to an increase in political intervention in the varsities affairs and also introduced pro-chancellor slot to be occupied by provincial higher education minister.
Sources said that abolishing the pro-chancellor slot would be a great relief to the vice chancellors of the public sector universities established under Universities Act 2012.
Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz confirmed that the government had plans to abolish the pro-chancellor slot to ensure autonomy of the universities.
Meanwhile, the sources said, the universities working under the Universities Act 1973 had not been appointing their pro-vice chancellors (PVCs) as their vice chancellors had been resisting such appointments to ensure no one shared their powers. The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) had sought the government’s intervention to get these officials appointed for sharing vice chancellors’ burden in the past, they added.
The VCs, they said, were of the view that the appointment of the PVCs in the presence of registrar, treasurer, controller of examinations and deans could result in administrative confusion and power politics on the campus.