There is going to be a new HEC Chairman soon

By Mariam Siddiqui
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May 24, 2022
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The government has chosen not to prolong the incumbent Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Dr. Tariq Javed Banuri's term, and has put out an advertisement for a new chairman.

The advertisement was published by the Federal Ministry of Education in accordance with the new Amendment Act, which stipulates that the new chairman's term of service will be two years.

A new search committee is apparently being formed in this regard, with Rana Tanveer, the Federal Minister of Education, as its chairperson.

Some current Vice-Chancellors of important public universities are a part of the committee, including Dr. Saima Hamid of Fatima Jinnah University Rawalpindi, Dr. Farooq Baazi of Baluchistan University of Technology, and Dr. Zia-ul-Qayyum of Allama Iqbal Open University.

In March 2021, the current HEC chairman was dismissed from his position under the same Act, after which he went to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and was restored ten months later in January 2022.

After his four-year term ends on May 28, it's also likely that Dr. Banuri will be given a ten-month extension to compensate for his suspension.

Surprisingly, the post for the HEC chairman stipulates only four days for submitting a thorough application, with the deadline set for May 26. Many people believe the timeline is unachievable because obtaining a NOC from a government institution takes several days in most circumstances.