Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Photo: File
ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has rejected the summary sent for the appointment of the chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and expressed displeasure over the names proposed in the matter, sources said on Thursday.
The resume has been returned to the Department of Federal Education, with indications that the position may now be re-advertised.
According to sources, the Prime Minister’s decision has prolonged the uncertainty over the top post in the HEC, which has been vacant since July 30, 2025, following the termination of former chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed’s tenure.
The development comes as the appointment of a permanent HEC chief has been delayed for an unusually long period, with more than six months since the post became vacant and the key institution continued to function on an ad hoc basis.
Since July 30, 2025, following the termination of the former HEC Chairman Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed’s tenure, the commission has been without a permanent leader.
On the same day, Federal Ministry of Education, Naeem Mehboob was assigned an additional charge as Acting Chairman of HEC.
Initially, the three-month ad-hoc arrangement was accompanied by assurances that a permanent appointment would be made promptly, especially after the Prime Minister constituted a search committee headed by the Federal Minister for Education.
Sources said that after the post was advertised, around 750 candidates applied for the post. Initially, work was done to select a candidate from abroad.
However, the incentive package offered did not meet international standards, which made it unattractive to foreign academics. As a result, the shortlist was largely drawn from within what sources called the local “vice chancellor’s bureaucracy”.
It is pertinent to note that the names sent to the Prime Minister included Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi, Vice-Chancellor of NED University of Engineering and Technology, Dr. Niaz Ahmed Akhtar, Vice Chancellor of Quaid-e-Azam University and Dr. Muhammad Ali, Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Punjab.
Earlier, sources in the Ministry of Education said that a “Karachi lobby” was actively pushing for the appointment of Dr. Sarosh Hashmat Lodhi.
Meanwhile, education experts have expressed concern that previous HEC leaderships were unable to provide meaningful policy guidance, stressing that far more work was needed on funding mechanisms and long-term policy frameworks for higher education.
