Abandoned academia: Universities crumble without leaders

Where the leadership of a university is indispensable for managing its academic and financial affairs, the failure of the provincial government to appoint permanent leadership across universities in Peshawar has landed them in deep trouble, writes Wisal Yousafzai for The Express Tribune.

Despite the government promising the appointment of permanent vice-chancellors in four universities after the completion of the three-month term of the ad hoc dual appointments many, including the Women University Swabi, University of Lakki Marwat, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak and University of Agriculture Dera Ismail Khan, continue to operate unsupervised.

“A total of 12 universities operate without a vice-chancellor in Peshawar. Moreover, many universities like the University of Peshawar, do not even have a dean for major departments like the social sciences,” said Dr Muhammad Uzair, president at the Peshawar University Teachers’ Association, who further added that students could not be granted their degrees in the absence of a dean. “The university can land in deep financial and logistical troubles in the absence of permanent leadership,” added Uzair, who called out the government for not taking serious consideration of the degree of academic mismanagement which haunted universities due to ad hoc dual appointments given to appointees of other institutions.
Full report on The Express Tribune site