LAHORE: The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA) on Sunday termed appointment of secretary of the Higher Education Department (HED) as chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) a step of the bureaucracy taken with mala fide intent to erode autonomy of the universities.

FAPUASA central president Dr Mahboob Hussain, Punjab President Dr Hamid Mukhtar and others said the appointment of a nonPhD person as chairperson of the PHEC showed the level of seriousness of the government for the education sector.

They said the government should appoint any member of the PHEC, meeting the basic eligibility criteria of the post of PHEC chairperson according to the PHEC Act 2014.

They said the teachers of all the universities in Punjab had expressed disappointment with the government`s decision and termed it a humiliation for appointing a non-PhD junior bureaucrat to chair meetings of internationally acknowledged academicians, vice chancellors of universities and senior PhD faculty members.

They demanded Chief Minister Usman Buzdar and Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz immediately withdraw the appointment of a non-PhD person as the PHEC`s acting chairman.