–Current applicants for offices of examination controller, registrar and treasurer are already working on other posts on additional charge
LAHORE: The Lahore College Women University (LCWU) has started the recruitment process for long-vacated seats of registrar and controller examination whereas Ishtiaq Ahmed, the former personal staff officer (PSO) of Punjab Higher Education and Information Technology Minister Raja Yasir Humayon Sarfraz, is the most prominent candidate for the registrar’s post, Pakistan Today learnt on Monday.
Well-informed sources in the higher education department (HED) told Pakistan Today, “There are 24 public universities in Punjab and almost 80 per cent of them lack proper and permanent officers for the posts of examination controller, registrar and treasurer. These seats are currently under officers working on an additional charge.”
“These seats, having a grade of BPS 20, are very important and can only be filled with the approval of the chancellor i.e. the Punjab Governor, who had given directions to keep these posts filled on a regular basis through a letter to the universities. The letter was written on August 9, 2019, and sent to all public universities in Punjab with a deadline of three months. Later, universities requested the governor for an extension in the deadline which has now been set on November 30, 2019,” sources added.
Sources further informed, “Interestingly, all three posts were vacant in LCWU for 6 years yet the recruitment process was still initiated for only two posts as the Lahore High Court (LHC) had given a stay order on the recruitment for the post of treasurer. This was because LCWU had advertised for the post in 2015 and only one candidate, the university’s director of the scholarships Abdul Ghaffar Ali, who was already working on an additional charge for the post of treasurer, had appeared. The university’s search committee had forwarded his application for approval to the chancellor who rejected it because as per law, there should be a panel of three candidates for such posts. Abdul Ghaffar Ali also appealed to the chancellor for his appointment but it was again rejected. The decision regarding his application will now be made upon the directions of the LHC.”
Further, sources informed that currently, additional registrar Uzma Batool is working as registrar on additional charge whereas the head of environmental sciences department Dr Tahira Mughal has an additional charge for the post of controller examination.
An official of LCWU requesting anonymity said, “Prominent candidates for the post of the registrar are Uzma Batool who is already the acting registrar, LCWU Principal Intermediate College Mahrukh Bukhari and Ishtiaq Ahmed.”
The official further informed, “Ishtiaq Ahmad was a grade 17 lecturer serving as a PSO. He was also posted at Government College Pattoki and he managed to get deputation in the Punjab HED eight years ago. He is very influential due to his political connections and there are a number of complaints against him. Now, he is trying to get the post of LCWU registrar and his powerful links are backing him”.
On the other hand, another official of LCWU said revealed that the university has formed a search committee for the selection of the candidates for these posts. The HED additional secretary, Rawalpindi Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) former VC Dr Samina Qadar, Faisalabad University of Agriculture former VC Dr Iqrar A Khan and MCWU VC Dr Bushra Mirza are members of the search committee.
“Shortlisting of applications and scrutiny of candidates for the said posts have also been finalised whereas the interviews of the shortlisted candidates will be conducted on November 6 after which the committee will finalise a panel of three candidates for each post that will be sent to the governor who will issue a final notification in this regard,” the official said.
The minister did not respond to calls or messages despite repeated attempts; however, LCWU VC Bushra Mirza while speaking to Pakistan Today said, “These posts were vacant since the last six years and we are completing the process of recruitment as per the directions of the Punjab governor. We want all selections to be made on merit and so the university can function properly”.