Govt proposes raising VCs' age limit to 75 years

LAHORE: The Punjab government has put forward a proposal to increase the upper age limit for vice chancellors of seven public-sector medical universities from 65 to 75 years.

It has also suggested easing regulations for seminaries by exempting federally registered madrassas from additional provincial registration requirements.

These proposed amendments were discussed during a Punjab Assembly session focused on education matters, where both government and opposition members raised concerns about the declining standard of educational institutions, the lack of universities in several districts, and the rising cost of education.

The session began with the question hour related to the Higher Education Department. Several questions were postponed or dropped due to the absence of lawmakers, while Deputy Speaker Malik Zaheer Iqbal Channar instructed Education Minister Rana Sikandar Hayat to remain present throughout the proceedings.

The proceedings also featured light moments when the education minister initially had difficulty navigating his digital tablet to find questions before responding to queries from opposition member Rana Aftab Ahmad Khan.

During the discussion, Rana Aftab criticized government education policies, particularly self-finance schemes and the increasing reliance on private tuition academies, questioning why more students and teachers were shifting toward them.

Opposition member Sardar Muhammad Ali also criticized the government’s education performance, saying that despite significant spending, reforms were not delivering visible results. He pointed out that students were spending only about 125 days per year in schools and argued that government initiatives were not effectively improving the system.

Responding to criticism, Education Minister Rana Sikandar defended the government’s performance, stating that two new universities were being established in the concerned member’s district. He also highlighted the Nawaz Sharif School of Excellence initiative, claiming that more students were now choosing these institutions over private schools.