Teachers protesting in front of University of Karachi in Sindh, Pakistan. Photo credit: Fahim Siddiqi / White Star, Dawn.
On February 17, 2025, the provincial assembly of Sindh, Pakistan passed the Universities Amendment Bill 2025, which allows senior bureaucrats without PhDs to be appointed as vice-chancellors to universities. The bill was passed despite strong opposition within the assembly as well as outside of it, with university teachers engaging in prolonged mobilization against the amendment, criticizing it for undermining university autonomy. While this is a province-level change, similar ongoing efforts at other provincial assemblies means that the threat against university autonomy could become a country-wide issue.
One of the main groups fiercely opposing the bill was academic staff at public universities organized within the Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Associations (FAPUASA). From January 17 to February 6, the FAPUASA’s Sindh Chapter engaged in a boycott of classes among other forms of protest. Academics protesting the bill argued that the appointment of bureaucrats without PhDs threatened university autonomy as a crucial component of academic freedom, opening the possibility of political interference at universities by governments. The FAPUASA has stated that their protests against the amendment would continue. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has also stated its opposition to the bill.
Meanwhile, the chief minister of Sindh province, Murad Ali Shah, has argued that universities require better administration, which could only be provided by experienced bureaucrats. He further stated that protests at universities were being incited by the HEC.
The bill was passed in the Sindh assembly first on January 31, 2025. However, following the Sindh governor’s refusal to give assent to the bill, it was returned to the assembly. After that, the assembly passed the bill again on February 17, 2025, overriding the governor’s objection. The bill reportedly caused heated debates within the assembly, being opposed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parties, who staged a walkout after the bill was passed. An opposition representative stated that “now an SP [superintendent of police] can be appointed as VC [vice-chancellor] in a university.
Reportedly, there are similar attempts at other provinces aiming to increase governmental control on universities. For example, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the assembly passed an amendment that gives the power to appoint vice-chancellors to the Chief Minister, as well as introducing a mid-term evaluation for vice-chancellors. Punjab is another province that is likely to introduce more direct control over universities, according to Dr. Aziz Ur Rehman, who wrote for The Express Tribune. In his article, he stated that “instead of strangling academic freedom and institutional independence, provincial governments must empower universities to fulfil their potential.”
According to the Academic Freedom Index (AFI), Pakistani universities have historically enjoyed moderate levels of institutional autonomy. But in the past few years, institutional autonomy has been worsening with the AFI score on institutional autonomy falling from 2.72 in 2020 to 2.39 in 2023 (on a positive scale from 0 to 4). Recent developments risk damaging university autonomy even further.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide (ESW) is deeply concerned about recent developments in Pakistan that threaten university autonomy as a central aspect of academic freedom as a fundamental human right. We call on provincial governments in Pakistan to reverse their recent actions aiming to increase governmental control over universities. We invite the global community dedicated to upholding human rights to join our call.
Read our country profile on Pakistan here.
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