Islamia College University to get full-time VC
Peshawar:12 September : The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to appoint a full-time vice-chancellor of Islamia College University (ICU) to streamline affairs of this prestigious institution and save it from further deterioration, according to officials.
Three acting vice-chancellors have so far run the institution during last three years after its first VC Ajmal Khan was kidnapped by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan on Sept 7, 2010. He was kidnapped by the TTP from the Professors Colony, located adjacent to the University of Peshawar Campus, while on his way to the ICU.
The standard of the ICU has been on a constant decline, both academically and administratively, in the absence of Mr Khan due to unprecedented differences among different groups of teachers, who had never showed unity on any issue inside the university.
Since kidnapping of Mr Khan, the present ICU VC Prof Ihsan Ali is the third person who has been working as its acting VC. Prof Ali is also a full-time VC of Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan. Prior to him, Prof Haidar Shah of the ICU and Prof Ms Noor Jehan of the University of Peshawar have worked as acting VCs of this historic university.
The TTP has so far released several video tapes of the kidnapped VC, and in the latest footage Mr Khan was shown desperately asking the government and Peshawar High Court chief justice for taking notice of his issue.
When contacted, advisor to the chief minister on higher education department MPA Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani said: "Yes, we have decided to appoint a full-time vice-chancellor at the Islamia College University in the best interest of the students."
Referring to the present acting VC Prof Ali, he said that it was impossible for one person to administratively control two universities located hundreds of kilometres from each other.
He said that another post would be created in the ICU to appoint the kidnapped VC Ajmal Khan so as to continue all his perks and privileges presently given to his family.
He said that the senate of the ICU would be convened very soon to solve this issue. "With the appointment of a permanent VC we could only save the university from further deterioration," he said.
Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Act, 2012, the powers of VC's removal are with the senate. Through a resolution passed by two-thirds of its members, the senate recommends to the chancellor for the removal of the VC on different grounds.
Mr Ghani said that the new permanent VC would be appointed within two months on merit and it would be ensured that the person was also a competent administrator.
Sources said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister, governor, who is chancellor of the ICU, and the higher education department were helpless before the strong groups of the ICU. Not a single decision could be implemented in the university unacceptable to the teachers, they said.
The influence of the teachers could be judged from the fact that they had been able to stop the summary sent by the HED to the chief minister for taking the acting charge from the incumbent VC and appointment of another acting VC.
They said that officials in the HED were unaware of the summary sent to the chief minister who had signed it before sending the same to the governor/chancellor for further action.
The sources said that due to interference of one of the teachers' groups, the summary was sent back to the Chief Minister Secretariat because of certain reasons. They said that presently no one knew about the whereabouts of the summary.
They said that the same group had been opposing the appointment of acting VC from outside the university while at the same time lending active support to the present acting VC, who is also from outside the university. Dawn.
