Metro53 - Gujrat (Web Desk) — A major controversy has erupted over recruitment policies at the University of Gujrat, as a large number of assistant professors have approached the Lahore High Court challenging what they term an unlawful hiring criterion.
The Lahore High Court took notice of the matter and directed the Governor of Punjab to intervene immediately and resolve the issue within 30 days, while also ordering the submission of a compliance report. According to petitioners, nearly 80 percent of the university’s teaching faculty has been adversely affected by the revised policy.
Details reveal that the University of Gujrat’s Syndicate amended the recruitment policy for lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors. Faculty members argue that these changes violate the University of Gujrat Act 2004, as well as the recruitment policies issued by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the Higher Education Department Punjab (HED) in 2021.
The petitioners contend that declaring PhD-qualified candidates “ineligible” solely on the basis of research marks is unlawful. They maintain that such a decision contravenes the UoG Statutes 2011, Section 27 of the University of Gujrat Act 2004, the minimum eligibility criteria set by HEC, and the HED Recruitment Policy 2021.
Furthermore, the faculty argues that the policy infringes upon Article 18 (freedom of profession) and Article 25 (equality) of the Constitution, making it legally challengeable. Following these concerns, affected teachers moved the Lahore High Court, which has now ordered the authorities to address the matter and resolve the teachers’ grievances within the stipulated 30-day period.
