Baqar Directs Audit Of Varieties, Orders Holding Of Senate Meetings

Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has directed the University & Board department and Higher Education Commission (HEC), Sindh to conduct an audit of all the public sector universities and direct them to establish their pension fund for timely payment of pensions to their retiring or to be retired employees

KARACHI, (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Sept 25th, 2023) :Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar has directed the University & board department and Higher Education Commission (HEC), Sindh to conduct an audit of all the public sector universities and direct them to establish their pension fund for timely payment of pensions to their retiring or to be retired employees.

“I am surprised that nine public sector universities have not held their Senate meeting in the last eight to nine years and they must but taken to task and their senate meeting be held at the earliest.

He issued these directives while presiding over a meeting of the Universities and Boards Dept and provincial Higher Education Commission here at the CM House. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretary Dr. Fakhre Alam, Chairman HEC Prof Tariq Raffi, PSCM Hassan Naqvi, Secretary Finance Kazim Jatoi, Secretary U&B Noor Mohammad Samo, and others.

HEC: The Chairman HEC told the interim CM that Sindh HEC was established in 2013 with a mandate to promote and improve higher education, research, and development in the Sindh Province.

The provincial HEC mainly focuses on faculty development; improving access; promoting excellence in learning and research; governance and management; enhancing quality assessment, monitoring & evaluation, and physical technological infrastructure development.

The important programs of the HEC were the Research Support Program, M.Phil, Ph.D Scholarship Program, Laboratory Strengthening Program, and Smart Classroom program.

To a question, CM was told that there were 27 universities in the public sector in the province, of them nine have not held their Senate meetings in the last eight years.

At this, the CM said that the Senate was an Apex body of the universities, and their Senate body passed their budgets.

It was also pointed out that most of the public sector universities were running huge losses due to financial management. At this, the CM directed the Secretary U&B to conduct an audit of all the universities through well-reputed and recognized auditors.

The CM said that the universities of the world through their research work have introduced revolutions, in science & technology, medicine, and in various other fields but our universities have not shown such commendable work which could be quoted at international fora.

Justice Baqar said that most Ph.D. degree holders have no such excellence, so we have to examine where the flaws exist.

Pension fund. The CM directed U&B and HEC to ask all the universities to establish their pension fund. At Karachi University and various other universities, retired employees were running from pillar to post to get their pensions. This system needed to be reformed and upgraded, he said.

KU: On the directives of the Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar the teachers of Karachi University have called off their strike.

The Secretary U&B Noor Ahmed Samoo and Chairman HEC Prof Tariq Rafi held a meeting with the teachers who had suspended their teaching activities for want of their demands. The CM’s condition for the talks was the resumption of educational activities.

The KU staff assured the CM that they would resume the educational activities and then talks were held. On behalf of the CM, the Secretary U&B and HEC Chairman assured the KU staff that their demands would be accepted.