In Pakistan, junior lecturer’s appointment as college head sparks controversy — Dawn
In Pakistan’s Muzaffargarh, the appointment of junior nursing lecturer Tahmina Bano to additionally perform the duties of head of the College of Nursing has sparked controversy. According to Dawn, sources in the health department claim that departmental rules may have been bypassed in the personnel decision, while the three most senior BPS-18 nurses were transferred out of the district.
Kulsum Bibi’s petition
According to official documents, Kulsum Bibi, a BPS-17 nursing lecturer and the college’s most senior employee by length of service, performed the duties of head from January 12 to July 15, 2026. She was responsible for administrative and academic work. Tahmina Bano was appointed as a nursing lecturer of the same grade through the Punjab Public Service Commission in January 2026.
In a petition to the secretary of the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department, Kulsum Bibi stated that Bano had allegedly sought to take the post of head and filed complaints through the chief minister’s portal using students’ personal data. According to the petition, Bisma Malik and Zarmin Khan denied during a hearing that they had filed these complaints. A subsequent inquiry, the petition claims, established that the complaints had been filed by the students’ cousins.
On July 24, Kulsum Bibi was instructed to return to the department. In a petition dated July 27, she requested a fair and transparent investigation, stating that the complaints had been motivated by personal interest.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Personnel transfers
On July 31, the department assigned Tahmina Bano to additionally perform the duties of head of the College of Nursing in Muzaffargarh until a permanent candidate is appointed. Sources in the health department claim that Bano was on leave at the time and assumed these duties during her leave. They also stated that, before a permanent appointment, the three most senior BPS-18 nurses were transferred to Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Lodhran.
A notification on the personnel decisions states that Kulsum Bibi was promoted to BPS-18 and appointed head of a college in Lodhran. Shaila Shabbir and Asiya Waryam were also promoted to BPS-18 and appointed nursing superintendents at Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan and Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital in Dera Ghazi Khan, respectively.
A department spokesperson said that all four senior nurses wanted to take the post of head of the college in Muzaffargarh. According to him, personnel transfers are the administration’s prerogative and were made on merit. Tahmina Bano did not respond to journalists’ calls and messages requesting comment on the situation.
