PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra on Monday approved the names of academicians recommended by the provincial government`s academic search committee for appointment to six public sector universities in the province as vice-chancellor.However, the top vacancies at three universities will be re-advertised as the names recommended by the committee for them didn`t sit well with the government for technical reasons.

The appointment process took more than one year.

The higher education department is expected to notify appointments in a day or two.

According an official in the know, Prof Khanzadi Fatima of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan has been appointed VC to the Swabi Women University, Ghazala Yasmeen of the Home Economics College University Peshawar to the Mardan Women University, Prof Iftikhar Ahmad of the Malakand University tothe Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Prof Mohammad Idrees of the University of Punjab to the Hazara University Mansehra, Prof Mohammad Sarwar of the Agriculture University Faisalabad to the Gomal University Mardan, and Professor Habib Ahmad of the Hazara University Mansehra to the Islamia College University Peshawar.

He, however, said the vacant positions of VCs at the University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, Kohat University for Science and Technology and newly-established University of Technology Nowshera hadn`t been filled.

According to sources, the process to appoint VCs to the Hazara UniversityMansehra and Kohat University of Science and Technology began in June 2015 but it remained unsuccessful as the academic search committee failed to find appropriate candidates due to `tough criteria`.

The higher education department later relaxed the criteria for the VC appointment by malcing major amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act 2012 through an ordinance issued on Feb 10, 2016, as the previous criteria set by the PTI-led provincial government under its reforms agenda was hardly fulfilled by any candidate.

In the relaxed criteria, the department reduced the number of research papers for candidates from 40 to 15,while the condition of impact factors of above 1.0 in the fields of agriculture, science or engineering was abolished.

Similarly, the required higher education experience was reduced from 20 years to 15 years in teaching and/or research, in a university/ well-established institution of repute at the postgraduate levels.

Later, the number of vacant VC positions at public sector universities in the province reached nine. The seven new vacancies were advertised in March 2016.

The sources said the second bid to fill vacant positions took five months to complete. They said the personal interest of different stakeholders delayed the VCs` appointment process forcingthe relevant public sector universities to function without administrative heads.

The sources said the long delay in the appointment of permanent VCs had adversely impacted on the academic, administrative and financial affairs of the universities concerned.

The academic search committee, which recommended three names for every university was headed by former federal minister for science and technology Dr Attaur Rehman and consisted of Ripha University rector Dr GM Miana, Lahore University of Management Sciences VC Dr Sohail Naqvi and higher education department`s secretary.