TAXILA: The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) Taxila is functioning without a permanent vice chancellor (VC) since June 2018, causing administrative as well as academic problems in the institution.

The post fell vacant after Prof Dr Niaz Ahmad Akhtar was appointed as the vice chancellor of Punjab University, Lahore. Senior Prof Dr Mumtaz Kamal was given the acting charge but he retired in Aug 2018.

Subsequently, the acting charge was given to another senior faculty member, Prof Hashim Nisar, but in March this year he also retired.

The Punjab Higher Education Department (PHED) has made no headway in appointment of permanent vice chancellors for 10 public sector universities in the province, including the UET Taxila.

On Oct 18, 2018, scores of students from different faculties of the UET boycotted classes and staged a protest demonstration against the non-appointment of a permanent vice chancellor. However, the issue still remains unresolved.Fatima Bibi, a PhD scholar, said issues such as approval for national and international scholarships, appointment of international supervisors for theses and relaxadon in fee were halted at the university for over a year.

Syed Ali Zaidi, an MPhil student, said their appeals for appointment of a permanent VC failed to move the authorities of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the provincial education ministry. He said students had also sent appeals to the governor but to no avail.

Maham Siddiqui, a BSc engineering student, also said administrative and academic affairs, including issuance of degrees, appointment of local and foreign supervisors for theses and approval of scholarships, remained suspended since June.

Rana Zainul Abedin, another student, said the absence of a permanent VC had created a number of administrative issues.

An office-bearer of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association said the Punjab government was ruining academics and administration of universities by not appointing permanent VCs of over a dozen universities.

A senior official of PHED said the government had changed the criteria for the appointment of VCs due to which there was a delay.

But a source said the appointment had been delayed due to a tug of war between the PHED, HEC and the governor`s secretariat over the eligibility criteria. The governmenthas planned to implement the KhyberPakhtunkhwa model which has been quite successful in KP.

According the source, as per the proposed criteria, academic qualifications would carry a maximum of 30 points. A candidate holding a PhD from the top 100 QS ranked universities will earn 30 points, from 101-300 universities 28 points, 301-500 universities 26 points and other HEC recognised universities or Unesco listed universities 24 points. Furthermore, points are also suggested for professional and leadership experience, international experience, publications and interviews.

When contacted, UET Registrar Professor Mansoor Baloch, who is looking after the administrative affairs of the university, confirmed the administrative and financial problems due to the delay in the appointment of the VC.

He said the PHED had already finalised the criteria for the selection of the VCs and the chief minister had approved the summary.He said the names of the search committee members had also been finalised and a notification issued.

In reply to a question, Prof Baloch said PHED had completed the advertisement, scrutiny and other formalities for the appointment of the permanent vice chancellor. He said the case was on the fast track and it was expected that the appointment would be made next month.

Despite repeated attempts, PHED Secretary Momin Agha could not be contacted for his comments.