The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Provincial Assembly has passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Universities Amendment Bill 2024, marking a significant shift in the governance of public sector universities in the province.
Presented by KP’s Minister for Higher Education, Meena Khan, the bill stipulates that the Chief Minister will serve as the Chancellor for all public sector universities in the province, replacing the Governor’s previous role. The bill also grants the Chief Minister the authority to appoint Vice-Chancellors (VCs) for these institutions. The appointment process will involve an Academic Search Committee that will recommend three candidates to the Chief Minister for each position.
The bill also introduces a new provision regarding the tenure of Vice-Chancellors, setting it at four years. However, the continuation of a VC’s term will be subject to the approval of a government-established Monitoring Committee, which will assess the VC’s performance. If the VC’s performance falls below 65%, the committee has the authority to terminate their tenure.
A key provision of the Amendment Bill 2024 is the mandate that only women can hold the position of Vice-Chancellor at women’s universities in the province, a move that aims to empower women in leadership roles within higher education.
This amendment marks a significant step towards centralizing the authority of university leadership under the provincial government, and it introduces new mechanisms for accountability and performance evaluation in the administration of universities.
