LAHORE - Punjab Governor/Chancellor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar has summoned ex-vice chancellor of Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) Dr Uzma Qureshi on Tuesday (today) to Governor’s House to determine legitimacy of her appointment as professor of education.

Dr Uzma Qureshi is a candidate for the post of vice chancellor at the Women University of Multan.

Sources in the Higher Education Department of Punjab say the department has prepared a summary of top three candidates for the slot, including Dr Uzma. Two names in the summary are Dr Talat Afzal and Dr Farhat Saleemi.

“The chief minister will decide the name for the slot. The summary is still undecided as the law department is looking forward to the decision on professorship of Dr Uzma Qureshi by the competent authority (the chancellor),” the source says.

It is pertinent to mention that the Lahore High Court on the petition of Dr Ghazala Noureen, who is assistant professor at the LCWU, directed the chancellor to decide the case after providing the petitioner an opportunity of personal hearing.

Higher Education Department shortlists 3 names for Women University Multan VC slot

Dr Ghazala Noureen in a petition challenged the appointment of Dr Qureshi as professor of education at LCWU, saying that she did not fulfill the advertised criteria for the post and did not have the publications required for the post.

Dr Qureshi was appointed permanent vice chancellor of the LCWU in May 2017 and was removed from the post in April 2018 by the order of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court initiated an inquiry by a five-member committee headed by Dr Amjad Saquib to determine eligibility of Dr Qureshi as a candidate for vice chancellorship.

The committee prepared and submitted a report to the court, which revealed deficiencies in her appointment.

“Dr Qureshi had only nine publications in 2015 at the time of applying for the post of vice chancellor. Dr Ghazala Noureen said how could Dr Qurshi have 15 mandatory publications at the time of her appointment as professor in 2010 if the inquiry committee constituted by the Supreme Court of Pakistan had established she had just nine publications in 2015,” the report said.