The Punjab government and the governor locked horns on Friday over the appointment of the vice chancellors at the universities in the province.
Expressing his thoughts on Samaa TV, Punjab Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat said: “Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider Hayat cannot reject the summary of the appointment of the vice chancellors at the universities.”
“If the Punjab governor wants to appoint the like-minded VC, so that is not going to happen. He [Punjab governor] cannot appoint the VCs at will,” said Hayat.
“The Punjab governor has no authority to refuse the summary pertaining to the appointment of the VC,” said Hayat.
He maintained: “The Punjab chief minister has the authority to send one name to the Punjab governor, and it is compulsory for the Punjab governor to approve the name given by the chief minister.”
“Meanwhile, we cannot do anything if the governor does not like the name we send for the appointment of the VC,” said Hayat.
Asking the Punjab governor to refrain from “staging politics” on education, Hayat said: “The Punjab governor should not force us to say anything that will hurt the sentiments.”
“The law will take its course if the Punjab governor will try to spark controversy on the matters relevant to education,” he added.
“The candidates who were refused had contacted the Punjab governor. The rejected candidates are unpleased,” Hayat added.
The Punjab governor is the chancellor of the universities. It would have been better if he did anything for the uplift of education. But he has never contacted the government for the improvement of the universities,” said the education minister.
The minister made it clear that the action will be taken against those who will look to interrupt the educational process.
