Islamabad:Under the 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2011, the ministries of food, population, environment, education, and health were among several subjects transferred from the federal government to the provinces. The move was intended to strengthen provincial autonomy and address a long-standing demand of the federating units.
However, despite the devolution of these subjects, several federal institutions and departments continued to operate in Islamabad. Among them is the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MOFEPT).
Similarly, the Higher Education Commission (HEC), which was also affected by the devolution process, continues to function with an extensive administrative structure and sizeable resources, despite arguments that its functions could be managed through a higher education wing within the ministry.
Questions regarding the ministry's understanding of university affairs were recently raised following a letter issued to Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) on June 11. The communication, signed by a section officer holding a PhD degree, stated that “consequent upon the upcoming closure of the financial year and the associated budgetary and administrative wrapping-up procedures," the Competent Authority had decided to postpone both the university’s Selection Board meeting and the election process for a teachers’ representative.
The directive has puzzled many observers. It remains unclear how the end-of-financial-year budgetary procedures are connected to the functioning of a university Selection Board, particularly when universities are expected to operate as autonomous institutions and continue their routine administrative affairs irrespective of federal budget exercises.
Even more perplexing is the instruction to delay the election process for a teachers' representative. Critics argue that such elections involve no direct financial implications and therefore bear little relation to fiscal-year closing activities.
Adding to the confusion is the reference to a Senate election process. The Senate of Quaid-i-Azam University was abolished through a Martial Law Order issued during General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime on March 17, 1985. More than four decades later, QAU remains the only public sector university in Pakistan without a Senate.
Observers have therefore questioned how an election process related to a non-existent Senate found its way into an official communication. Some have even viewed the reference as an ironic reminder of a long-defunct institution, while others see it as evidence of bureaucratic oversight.
In reality, the university was scheduled to hold an election on June 17 for a professor's seat in the Syndicate for the remainder of the term. Since no Senate elections were planned, critics argue that the ministry's directive appears legally irrelevant to the actual electoral process.
Nevertheless, the university administration complied with the instructions and issued a notification postponing the election, highlighting once again the influence that federal authorities continue to exercise over institutions that are, at least in principle, autonomous.
