Prof. Dr. Arshad Munir
There are more than 250 tertiary institutions which are categorised as public, private, and military universities accredited by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan which are responsible for overseeing the financial funding, research outputs, and teaching quality of the universities in Pakistan. However, the Acts of the universities regarding the appointments, duration, and powers of the officers & authorities vary from province to province and sometimes university to university in the same province. Although, amendments have been made by the provincial assemblies i.e. Public Sector Universities (Amendment) Act 2012. Sindh Universities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2013, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities (Amendment) Act, 2016, and Baluchistan Universities Act, 2022, still much has to be taken care of to make the Acts clearer, comprehensible, and uniform. The following table depicts the variation in the Acts of the universities of Pakistan,
Appointment of Vice Chancellors, Pro-Vice Chancellors & Registrars:
In Baluchistan VC 03 years and no extension, PVC 03 years through a search committee, Registrar 04 years contract , appointed by the Syndicate
In KPK VC 03 years, extendable for one more term, PVC 02 years by the Chancellor from amongst the three senior most Deans or Teachers, Registrar appointed on regular basis by the Syndicate,
In Punjab VC 04 years and no extension, PVC 03 years from amongst three senior most Professors by the Chancellor, Registrar 03 years contract/ Regular, appointed by the Chancellor/ Syndicate
In Sindh VC 04 years, extendable for one more term, PVC 04 Years by the Chancellor, Registrar 03 years contract, appointed by the Government
Same is the case with the appointment/ nomination of other officers and authorities like Pro-Chancellor, Treasurer, Controller etc. In Baluchistan, the Minister of the Government of Baluchistan, Colleges, Higher & Technical Higher Education Department shall be the Pro-Chancellor of all universities. The Minister of the relevant Administrative Department of the Provincial Government (Education Minister for General Universities, Agriculture Minister for Agricultural Universities, Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment for Technical Universities) shall serve as the Pro-Chancellor in KPK and Punjab Province. Whereas, the Minister or Advisor of the Government nominated by the Chief Minister shall act as the Pro-Chancellor in universities of the Sindh Province. In Sindh and KPK Provinces, the Vice-Chancellor shall, in the absence of the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor, preside at the Convocation of the University and the meetings of the Senate. The Chancellor or a nominee of the Chancellor shall preside at convocation of the Universities in Punjab Province. Whereas, Baluchistan Universities Act, 2022 is silent regarding presiding at the convocation in the absence of the Chancellor and Pro-Chancellor.
There are also several variations related to the check & and balance of the powers of the Vice Chancellors in the Acts. In most of the Acts of Universities of the Punjab Province, a Vice Chancellor may, in an emergency, take an action which is not otherwise in the competence of the Vice Chancellor but is in the competence of any other Authority. However, he/she shall, within seven days of taking such action submit a report of the action taken to the Pro-Chancellor and to the members of the Syndicate; and, the Syndicate shall, within forty five days of such an action of the Vice-Chancellor, pass such orders as the Syndicate deems appropriate. In Baluchistan, the Vice Chancellor, after taking such action, forwards, within seventy-two hours, a report of the action taken to the members of the Emergency Committee of the Senate for final decision. Regarding Universities in Sindh Province, the VC shall, as soon thereafter as possible, report his emergency action to the officer, authority or other body which in the ordinary course, would have dealt with the matter. In KPK, The Vice Chancellor shall report the action so taken to the Syndicate in its next immediate meeting. However, KPK Act highlights some restrictions and refrains the VC from using emergency powers including framing of Statutes, Regulations, Rules, imposing any penalty against employees in BPS-17 and above, exercising powers of Senate etc. Surprisingly, no limitation/ restriction has been imposed on the Syndicate for final decision about the action taken in emergency throughout all the available Acts of the universities.
There are several Acts with no Senate, no Board of Studies, no Schedules & Statutes regarding the appointment of Deans, Directors, Chairpersons etc. Therefore, there is dire need to make a uniform Act for all the tertiary institutions of Pakistan for facilitation and simplification, providing all the stakeholders a clear constitutional structure and a step towards the promotion of professional equality. The more details regarding unified Act are available and can be discussed and shared with the concerned authorities. Plato has rightly said, “For good nurture and education implant good constitutions”.
The author is a professor of Islamic Studies in Ghazi University, Dera Ghazi Khan and can be contacted at amunir@gudgk.edu.pk
