The Punjab government's recent attempt to strip public universities of their autonomy is the latest in a long history of efforts to prioritise political interests over the futures of young citizens. Proposed amendments to university acts would replace VCs as syndicate chairpersons with the chief minister or higher education minister, reduce elected faculty representation, and abolish senates.

The move mirrors the regressive legislation passed in Sindh earlier this year, which allowed bureaucrats without PhDs to be appointed as VCs despite massive protests from academics, students and activist groups. Both efforts were thinly veiled attempts to reward party loyalists with high-level education roles, even though some of them may not have been qualified to teach at the primary school level.

See Full Page