The appointment for the Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has been delayed after the technical failure in the National Information Technology Board (NITB) job portal.
During a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee for Federal Education and Professional Training, the matter was highlighted by Senator Bashara Anjum Butt.
The chairperson of the committee inquired about the expected timeline to complete the appointment of the HEC chairman.
He also noted that his focus was on the fact that the HEC website was deteriorating, which prevented the candidates from submitting applications.
However, the Federal Secretary for Education and Acting Chairman HEC made it clear that there was no problem on the HEC website itself, but there was no problem on the NITB job portal used to receive applications.
The secretary explained that due to a technical error in the system, applicants were given an extra week to submit their documents. Candidates who faced upload issues were contacted by email to provide the missing documents.
Responding to a question from the committee chairperson, how the authorities identified the affected candidates, the secretary said that all the candidates have been able to apply, though some cannot upload complete documents.
According to the secretary, the selection process for the chairman of the HEC is currently underway. A shortlisting and scrutiny committee headed by the Minister of State has been constituted, so that the candidates have been constituted to interview and send the final panel to the federal cabinet for approval.
The secretary estimated that it could take two to three months to complete the meeting.
Senator Bashara Anjum Butt called on the authorities to improve the work of the Higher Education Commission. He emphasized that HEC should take concrete concrete steps to facilitate students and applicants, ensure smooth processes and better public services.