ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was informed that out of 147 public sector universities about 60 are functioning without vice-chancellors, while the tenured positions in public sector universities are not filled in.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Mussarat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan issue notice to the federal and provincial governments, directing them to file comment with regard to the public sector universities within their respective jurisdictions, including identifying the public sector universities where the positions of vice chancellors and other tenured positions are lying vacant or such positions are held on acting charge basis and since when.
All Public Universities BPS Teachers Association (Association), a registered charity, through advocate Umer Ijaz Gilani, has filed a public interest petition and cited the secretaries ministries of education of federation and provincial governments.
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The Association represents about 50,000 teachers working in public universities. Umer Gilani told the apex court that the Association’s only reason for bringing this matter to the attention of the Court and its only interest is to ensure that federal laws, provincial laws and statutes of public sector universities are implemented.
He submits that there are three major grievances of the petitioner: first, that out of the 147 public sector universities about 60 are functioning without vice chancellors; second, the tenured positions in public sector universities are not filled-in; third, the decision making bodies of the public sector universities, including their boards of governors, syndicates, senates and academic councils do not hold meetings with the frequency as stipulated in the law or their respective statutes, consequently, public sector universities are under performing and impinges on their academic freedom.
He further submits that public sector universities, as envisaged in the law, were supposed to be autonomous but when the said positions are not filled-in and meetings do not take place it facilitates outside interference including by the federal and provincial governments.
Umer Gilani submitted that Article 4 of the Constitution stipulates that citizens must be treated in accordance with the law, which is their inalienable right, and that when public sector universities, which are dependent on their funding on taxpayers money, are not governed in accordance with the law and their respective statutes, the citizens’ inalienable right is violated.
He further states that Article 25 of the Constitution requires that all citizens be treated equally, however, when some public sector universities are functioning in accordance with law and others are not with regard to the latter the citizens are not treated equally. He also contended that the Constitution was amended and Article 25A was inserted, therein, in the year 2010, and though the said provision attends to children up to the age of 16 years it shows the importance attached by Parliament to education.
In support of his argument, Gilani cited the case of Aamir Raza Ashfaq v Minhaj Ahmed Khan (2012 SCMR 6), wherein, it was held that the position of vice chancellor should not be left vacant and that delay in such appointment has an adverse effect on the functioning of the university, and reliance, therein, was placed on Article 9 (right to life) which was given a broad meaning.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024