ISLAMABAD- Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has elevated his Special Assistance on Social Sector Shehnaz Wazir Ali by giving her the chair of Higher Education Commission (HEC) with the status of a federal minister. The government has issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday while Ms Ali was on her visit abroad. The Commission set up in 2002 is under special attention by the critics for drawing lofty budgets throughout the previous years. It was established through an ordinance by the then president Pervez Musharraf. The post was vacant since the resignation of the former Higher Education Commission Chairman Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman who had tendered his resignation to the prime minister on October 9. A tug of war was in full swing within the ruling Pakistan People's Party for a lucrative slot of the chairman HEC and the Cabinet Division had forwarded a summary to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gailani proposing three names including Dr. Javaid R. Laghari, Dr. Asim Hussain, and Shirin R. Tahir Kheli. Speculations had pinned Dr. Asim's name as the most probable of the three short-listed in the summary proposal of the Cabinet division. However, suprizing many the government has given the charge to Shehnaz Wazir Ali till further order. It has also been learnt that the Minister of Education Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani and Shehnaz Wazir Ali are against the autonomy of the Commission. and advocate the idea of merging the HEC with Ministry of Education. The officials of the HEC, at the same time, believe that the decision to remerge the Commission into the Ministry would be a major setback for the higher education sector in the country. It also important to mention here that the government has not yet released the development as well as recurring grant of this quarter of the fiscal year. And the universities have been protesting against the situation as they have gone bankrupt. "Finance Ministry has been simply denying releasing the funds allocated to HEC. We are treated as if we are the enemies of the country. It seems that a conspiracy has been hatched up against the higher education sector of the country," said an official requesting anonymity. Still they have pinning high hopes on the acting chairperson that she would understand the situation and help rehabilitate the commission.