Nearly Half of Govt Colleges in Punjab Are Working Without Principals

Nearly 48% of public sector colleges in Punjab, both male and female, are currently operating without principals, with 401 out of 825 positions vacant across 36 districts. Despite this significant shortfall, the Higher Education Department (HED) is still pressuring college heads, divisional directorates, and deputy directorate offices to increase enrollment by 20% to reach the 800,000-student mark. However, there seems to be no plan to address the vacant principal positions.

Recent data from the HED reveals that out of 825 public sector colleges in Punjab, 377 are boys’ colleges and 448 are girls’, collectively serving around 715,472 students (321,191 girls and 291,281 boys). In contrast, 2,175 private colleges (892 male and 967 female) cater to 608,373 students, despite their greater numbers compared to public colleges. Additionally, 26% of sanctioned posts for lecturers (17), assistant professors (18), associate professors (19), and professors (20) remain vacant in Punjab’s public sector colleges.

The data shows that out of a total of 25,651 sanctioned posts, 6,876 are currently vacant. Specifically, there are 222, 819, 2,115, and 3,725 vacant posts in grades 20, 19, 18, and 17, respectively, across the province’s 825 public sector colleges.

magine the strength of public sector colleges if these posts were filled, compared to private sector institutions,” said PPLA Punjab General Secretary Mahboob Arif in a statement to Dawn. He emphasized the severe leadership crisis and called on Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to fill all vacant posts through promotions and new lecturer inductions via the PPSC.

According to Mr. Arif, this disparity underscores the efficiency of public sector institutions, even under challenging circumstances. Punjab Professors and Lecturers Association provincial leader Faiza Raana stated that filling the 401 vacant principal positions on merit would significantly boost enrollment in public sector colleges across Punjab.

Ms. Raana also highlighted the HED’s failure to effectively manage other key educational leadership roles. For instance, seven secondary board chairperson positions are currently held by divisional commissioners, except in Multan and Rawalpindi, due to a lack of appointments. Furthermore, the HED has yet to appoint vice-chancellors for 27 public sector universities in Punjab, and 40% of the directorate offices at nine divisional headquarters have vacant posts for permanent college directors

Ms. Raana stressed that the HED is operating without a dedicated minister, exacerbating the challenges in the education sector. She urged the Chief Minister to appoint a permanent HED minister for the 25,000-strong college teaching community, as many issues cannot be addressed without one. She also called for meaningful dialogue between HED leadership and the PPLA, rather than relying on bureaucratic pressure to meet routine targets.

The number of vacant principal positions across various districts is as follows: Attock (9), Bahawalnagar (10), Bahawalpur (13), Bhakkar (12), Chakwal (8), Chiniot (3), Faisalabad (21), Gujranwala (23), Gujrat (14), Lahore (16), Layyah (13), Multan (17), Rahim Yar Khan (15), Rawalpindi (19), Sahiwal (6), Sargodha (17), Sialkot (22), and Vehari (13), D G Khan (12), Jhang (10), Khanewal (11), Mandi Bahuddin (11), and Mianwali (8).