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In the initial scrutiny of the applications for the vacant posts of vice-chancellors at nine public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Higher Education Department has dropped more than half of the candidates.
Sources told Dawn that 230 academicians had filed over 800 applications for the VC vacancies with the majority applying for the top posts of several universities.
They said in the initial screening, the department considered only 109 candidates for the onward process as the rest didn’t fulfil the criteria set for the positions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012.
About the criteria for the VC appointment, the law states: “a VC for the general universities shall be a PhD in any discipline with good academic record, while for an engineering university, PhD in a field of engineering and for technology university, PhD in a field of technology etc.
HEC shortlists only 109 of 230 applicants for top positions at nine public sector varsities
“He (VC) must have experience in the field of higher education of at least 15 years in teaching or research in a university/ well-established institution of repute at the post-graduate levels.”
Under the law, the VC shall also have excellent research publication record at least minimum meets the criteria for appointment as professor in the university with minimum 15 peer reviewed and Higher Education Commission recognized research publication.
Also, the VC is required to have at least five years of administrative/postdoctoral research experience in the field of higher education.
Of the nine universities, where the posts of VCs are vacant, four are the ones established by the current PTI government.
Among them are Women University Swabi, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Women University Mardan and Shuhada-i-Army Public School University of Technology Nowshera.
The other universities are the Islamia College University Peshawar, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Hazara University Mansehra and University of Science and Technology Peshawar.
The candidates have shown more interest in the vice-chancellorship of the old universities as over a hundred of applications have been received by HED for each university, sources said.
After completing the initial scrutiny, the HED has sent the documents of 109 candidates to its academic search committee to interview them and make recommendations for the appointment of VCs to the universities in question.
The committee will recommend three names for a VC post for selection by the chief minister. And once the chief minister approves a name, the chancellor, who is the government of the province, will order its notification for appointment.
The academic search committee is headed by former federal minister for science and technology Dr Attaur Rehman as chairman and consists of former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Ishrat Hussain, rector of the Ripha University Dr GM Miana, VC of the Lahore University of Management Sciences Dr Sohail Naqvi and the higher education secretary as members.
The criteria for the VCs’ appointment was relaxed by the government through major amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act 2012 through an ordinance notified on 10th February 2016 as the previous criteria established by the PTI-led provincial government under its reform agenda were hardly fulfilled by any candidate.
The need for relaxing criteria for the appointment of VCs was felt in Sept 2015 when the vacant posts of VCs at Hazara University Mansehra and Kohat University of Science and Technology were advertised.
The committee established for the VCs appointment didn’t find proper candidates to appoint them as VCs, the sources said, adding that the qualification set under the existing criteria for VCs was very high.
The provincial government has also relaxed the appointment process for vice-chancellors of the public sector universities by reducing their research papers from 40 to 15, while the condition of impact factors of above 1.0 in the case of candidates in the fields of agriculture, science or engineering was also abolished.
Similarly, experience for the VC’s appointment in the field of higher education has also been reduced from 20 years to 15 in teaching and/ or research, in a university/ well-established institution of repute at the post-graduate levels.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1247842/half-of-the-candidates-out-of-race-for-vcs
Sources told Dawn that 230 academicians had filed over 800 applications for the VC vacancies with the majority applying for the top posts of several universities.
They said in the initial screening, the department considered only 109 candidates for the onward process as the rest didn’t fulfil the criteria set for the positions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012.
About the criteria for the VC appointment, the law states: “a VC for the general universities shall be a PhD in any discipline with good academic record, while for an engineering university, PhD in a field of engineering and for technology university, PhD in a field of technology etc.
HEC shortlists only 109 of 230 applicants for top positions at nine public sector varsities
“He (VC) must have experience in the field of higher education of at least 15 years in teaching or research in a university/ well-established institution of repute at the post-graduate levels.”
Under the law, the VC shall also have excellent research publication record at least minimum meets the criteria for appointment as professor in the university with minimum 15 peer reviewed and Higher Education Commission recognized research publication.
Also, the VC is required to have at least five years of administrative/postdoctoral research experience in the field of higher education.
Of the nine universities, where the posts of VCs are vacant, four are the ones established by the current PTI government.
Among them are Women University Swabi, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Women University Mardan and Shuhada-i-Army Public School University of Technology Nowshera.
The other universities are the Islamia College University Peshawar, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Hazara University Mansehra and University of Science and Technology Peshawar.
The candidates have shown more interest in the vice-chancellorship of the old universities as over a hundred of applications have been received by HED for each university, sources said.
After completing the initial scrutiny, the HED has sent the documents of 109 candidates to its academic search committee to interview them and make recommendations for the appointment of VCs to the universities in question.
The committee will recommend three names for a VC post for selection by the chief minister. And once the chief minister approves a name, the chancellor, who is the government of the province, will order its notification for appointment.
The academic search committee is headed by former federal minister for science and technology Dr Attaur Rehman as chairman and consists of former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Ishrat Hussain, rector of the Ripha University Dr GM Miana, VC of the Lahore University of Management Sciences Dr Sohail Naqvi and the higher education secretary as members.
The criteria for the VCs’ appointment was relaxed by the government through major amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act 2012 through an ordinance notified on 10th February 2016 as the previous criteria established by the PTI-led provincial government under its reform agenda were hardly fulfilled by any candidate.
The need for relaxing criteria for the appointment of VCs was felt in Sept 2015 when the vacant posts of VCs at Hazara University Mansehra and Kohat University of Science and Technology were advertised.
The committee established for the VCs appointment didn’t find proper candidates to appoint them as VCs, the sources said, adding that the qualification set under the existing criteria for VCs was very high.
The provincial government has also relaxed the appointment process for vice-chancellors of the public sector universities by reducing their research papers from 40 to 15, while the condition of impact factors of above 1.0 in the case of candidates in the fields of agriculture, science or engineering was also abolished.
Similarly, experience for the VC’s appointment in the field of higher education has also been reduced from 20 years to 15 in teaching and/ or research, in a university/ well-established institution of repute at the post-graduate levels.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1247842/half-of-the-candidates-out-of-race-for-vcs
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