KARACHI: In what appears to be a controversial move, the provincial cabinet on Wednesday decided to change the criteria for appointment of vice chancellors in general universities, paving the way for senior bureaucrats to occupy the top academic office of places of higher learning.

The cabinet approved the proposed amendments to the Sindh Universities and Institutes Laws Act 2018, to be sent to the provincial assembly for legislation, under which it outlined the updated criteria for appointing VCs across various universities.

Except the engineering universities whereonly a PhD holder academic could become the VC, the cabinet decided that any government officer in grade-21 or above `with four years of experience and a relevant Master`s degree` can also be appointed as a vice chancellor at Sindh`s general, medical and IBA universities.

However, the move draws strong reaction from teachers` bodies, which demanded that a doctoral degree must be the minimum qualification for any vice chancellorship, particularly for general universities, and that the criteria must ensure that only eminent academicians eligible for full professorships are considered for appointments.

`Ensuring leadership with strong academic, administrative backgrounds` On Wednesday, a meeting of the Sindh cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

Among various other decisions, the cabinet approved amendments to the universities law to standardise the criteria for appointment of VCs, `ensuring leadership with strong academic and administrative backgrounds`, said a statement issued from the CM House.

For general universities, the cabinet decided that a `VC must be an eminent academic eligible for a full professorship or a public sector administrator (BPS-21+) withfour years of experience and a relevant Master`s degree. A PhD in the relevant field is preferred. Appointments made by the Chief Minister will be for four years, extendable by another term. The maximum age for applicants is 62 years`.

For specialised universities such as engineering universities, the cabinet approved that a VC `must hold a PhD in engineering and meet HEC professor criteria` For medical universities, a VC must be either full professors with a postgraduate fellowship or PhD or senior public sector administrators (BPS-21+) with an MBBS and Master`s degree.

For law universities, a VC must have an LLM or equivalent qualifications as eminent academics or judicial professionals.

For IBA Universities, a VC should be `a PhD-qualified professor or senior administrator (BPS-21+) with a Master`s degree in a relevant field is required`.

For veterinary universities, the VC should be a PhD in Veterinary/Animal Sciences or senior administrative qualifications (BPS21+) with relevant degrees.

Teachers oppose govt move Expressing serious concern over the development, teachers representing the Sindh chapter of the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) and the Karachi University Teachers` Society (Kuts) demanded immediate withdrawal of the decision.

They stated that a doctoral degree must be the minimum qualification for any VC, particularly for general universi-ties, and that the criteria must ensure that only eminent academicians eligible for full professorships are considered for appointments.

`The inclusion of non-PhD and non-academic individuals as eligible candidates for the post of vice chancellor is absolutely unacceptable, though we support the requirement of a minimum of four years of experience for a higher-gradepost,` said Fapuasa-Sindh President Prof Ikhtiar Ali Ghumro, who is associated with Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur.

He reasoned that a vice chancellor `isn`t merely an administrator, he is the academic and intellectual leader of a university, responsible for steering its academic direction, research priorities, and institutional growth`.`Universities must be led by individuals with the academic credentials and vision to elevate these institutions to global standards. We urge the Sindh government to reconsider this decision and act in the best interests of academia and the future of education in the province,` contended Prof Ghumro.

Kuts President Dr Mohsin Ali shared that the responsi-bilities of a vice chancellor were intellectually intensive, requiring the expertise of an eminent academic with substantialteachingandresearch experience.

`Appointing a non-academic administrator undermines the academic integrity of universities and sets a damaging precedent for the future of higher education in Sindh, he argued.