The Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) has been dysfunctional for almost a month as the Punjab government has been unable to appoint a permanent head and the duration of the temporary charge assigned to the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) secretary also expired earlier in the month.
The Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) has publicized a renewed criteria for applying for the position of the next PHEC chairman, with fresh rules and regulations likely to leave many previously-eligible candidates out of the race for good.
The Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association has expressed serious reservation over temporary appointment of the Punjab higher education secretary as chairperson of the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC). In a press statement, FAPUASA Central President Dr Mahboob Hussain, FAPUASA Punjab President Dr Hamid Mukhtar and other executive have said that the temporary appointment of HED secretary as PHEC chairman was based on malafide intention of bureaucracy, as it wanted to bring higher education system under its clutches.
As the tenure of the chairperson of Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) expires on December 16, the Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) has sent a summary to the Punjab chief minister to appoint an acting PHEC chairperson until the post is advertised and a new head is appointed
Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) has launched an e-portal in its bid to streamline the data of public and private sector universities in the province. The PHEC e-portal would help collect and access the updated information regarding number of students, faculty strength and programmes being offered by universities.
Stakeholders higher education sector of Punjab have been taken by surprise by a news item published in an Urdu daily that claimed that the new PTI government, under Punjab Higher Education Minister Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfraz, has decided in principle to abolish the Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC). The news item, however, proved fake when a clarification was issued by the minister’s office and PHEC.
The recent alarm bells over rising extremism and intolerance among university students look set to be answered as public universities across Punjab have devised a plan to promote students’ interaction that will lead to peace and harmony among the youth enrolled at leading educational institutions.