The Higher Education Commission (HEC) board of governors stripped the commission’s embattled chairman, Dr Tariq Banuri, of his powers, members of the board confirmed on Tuesday, just a few weeks after he was restored to the position by the Islamabad High Court.
The move came after the secretary of the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MFEPT), who is also a member of the HEC board of governors, issued a resolution, which was supported by a majority of members, to transfer Dr Banuri’s powers as chairman to the commission’s executive director.
Dr Banuri was appointed chairman HEC in 2018 on a four-year term and was supposed to retire in May this year. However, he was removed from the post in March 2021 on the basis of an amendment to the HEC ordinance 2002 through a presidential ordinance that reduced the chairman’s tenure from four years to two. The federal government has already challenged before the Supreme Court the Jan 18, 2022, restoration of Dr Banuri on the post of HEC chairman and sought to set aside the IHC short order restoring the chairman on the post. Filed through Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman, the government in the petition argued that the amended ordinances.
