The Chief Minister Punjab.
Subject: appointment of the VCs in Public Universities
Sir,
The appointment of VCs is a matter of grave concern. Therefore, seriousness is call of the day in the prevailing circumstances to make Universities a higher seat of learning. We have been facing great difficulties in the Universities owing to the high handedness of the past VCs with dubious characters either they were from civil or military bureaucracy or from academics. Here are few questions regarding the proposed search committee: 1- What is the the credibility of the search committee for the selection of prospective VCs for the public universities? 2- What is the standard for the appointment of search committee for the VCs? It is a million dollar question that who should be the VC in public Universities? He should be a Professor, military or civil bureaucrats? In the Punjab University last Professor Vice Chancellor piloted the Punjab University for nine years with insincerity and dishonesty.
The professor VC in last nine years ruined the merit and transparency relentlessly. He politicized the University as much that the incumbent VC have been doing his best to depoliticize the University but facing resistance. The present professor VC holds merit and transparency and the followers of the previous professor VC are halting the process of merit and transparency. Thus, the government needs to appoint new VC with the following criteria to make the appointment transparent and in the spirit of meritocracy:
1- Age must not be more than 60-65 as an older person cannot run the affairs of the academicians.
2- Must be a researcher who has any contribution in research, for example he has given any new discovery, invention, theory, law, term or any specific terms or words that are considered of a value among academicians. (Not necessarily PhD)
3- Must give presentation before the whole faculty and answer the questions of the faculty in an open forum under the controlled environment.
4- The majority faculty vote will declare the appointment of the VC not by any search committee.
5- A VC must be a leader and a role model for the faculty. No administrative experience is necessary as if a person satisfies the most of the faculty in a question answer session it means he has the wisdom enough to satisfy highly qualified people. Wisdom is required for running a University not administrative experience.
Here are the restrictions upon the VCs of the Universities:
1- A VC must be accountable to the executive body of four pro-vice chancellors for his actions
2- The Pro-VCs will also be of great capabilities and from the faculty should be of almost same capabilities may make them eligible for the post of VC. It would be a source of leadership in future.
3- The VC or the Pro-VCs won’t have the authority to make appointments of the associate professors and Professors. Any faculty member who has PhD with required teaching experience and number of publications must be evaluated by the external referees and the University administration will be responsible to announce the result of associates professors and professors within six months.
4- External referees should be appointed with the consultation of whole faculty, must be approved by the Syndicate.
Universities are institutions for advance studies and the leadership of the Universities must be appointed through a rigorous but transparent method. The notification the government issued few days back for the appointment of VCs is a categorical expression that we are still non serious regarding education and doing experiments.
Please appoint the VCs in public universities through a transparent way. The faculty may kindly interview the VC not the search committee or any other authority.
Your wisdom in this regard will be highly appreciated.
Yours sincerely,
Rana Eijaz Ahmad, PhD