NAROWAL: Students at the University of Narowal are facing challenges due to the prolonged vacancy of the vice chancellor`s (VC`s) position, which has been vacant for 15 months.

The absence of a permanent VC has resulted in a lack of leadership and delayed recruitment of both teaching and administrative staff, leaving students with reduced educationalfacilities.

Established as a subcampus of the University of Gujrat in 2014, the University of Narowal was upgraded to an independent institution in 2018.

However, despite its campus on 100 acres and a student strength of over 7,000, the university is struggling with staffing shortages.

There is a shortage of teaching staff, including lecturers, assistant professors, and other faculty members. As a result, students are experiencing asevere lack of regular classes, with some reporting only one or two lectures per day.

Administrative staff shortages are also affecting students` daily activities.

According to students like Alia Ashraf and Maryam Ashiq, they are forced to spend up to six hours on campus without engaging in meaningful academic activities.

Hanan Ali and Salik Mirza highlighted the difficulties of standing in long queues due to insufficient administrative personnel.

Registrar Dr Haseeb Sarwar said the lack of a permanent VC has halted the recruitment process for both teaching and administrative posts, despite a newspaper advertisement being published in May 2024 to fill over 100 vacant positions.

Students demanded that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and Governor Sardar Saleem Haider appoint a permanent VC as soon as possible.