Bushra Anjum alleges that the Education Minister not only appointed Tayyaba as an interim venture capitalist but also promoted her to a teacher.
Senator Bushra Anjum. Photo: screenshot
Senator Bushra Anjum Butt on Wednesday questioned the tenure of Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design (PIFD) Vice-Chancellor and the release of over Rs 2 billion in institutional funds, while criticizing the federal education minister for repeatedly missing meetings of the Senate Standing Committee on Education and ignoring its directives.
The senator accused the minister of ignoring the committee’s decisions in a dispute related to the tenure of PIFD vice-chancellor Hina Tayyaba. During a Senate body session this week, Butt said the education minister had not taken the committee seriously.
“I just want to draw everyone’s attention to this matter and the chairman of the Standing Committee on Education. I feel it is time for the education minister to take the Senate seriously. I have attended the meetings but the minister has never been present,” he said.
He said the committee had held six to seven meetings on the matter, during which questions were raised about “misuse of power and misappropriation of financial funds”. According to Butt, the committee ruled that Tayyaba’s term had ended in December and that she should step aside, and that any investigation would be carried out “in a transparent manner.”
Despite the ruling, the senator alleged that the minister not only appointed Tayyaba as acting vice-chancellor but also elevated her to professor and authorized the release of over Rs 2 billion in institutional funds under her authority.
“So I think this is ridiculing the Senate Standing Committee. I would appreciate this matter being transferred to the Privileges Committee, and I also want to refer it to the Finance Committee,” he said.
“If the role of the standing committee is merely a formality, then tell me, or if it is a platform where people knock on the door and ask for justice, so that I can work accordingly,” he added, stating that he wanted the minister to explain why he did not follow the committee’s decision.
The senator further alleged that Higher Education Commission (HEC) officials had taken the position that the Senate had no authority to question the tenure of a vice-chancellor. “We need to put this house in order,” he concluded.
