Islamabad: Despite the absence of a legally mandated Board of Governors (BoG) at the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad, the federal health ministry has moved ahead with the process to appoint executive directors for two key centres, holding interviews for the posts, officials familiar with the development said on Wednesday.
Interviews for the positions of Executive Director, Vaccine and Biological Products Centre, and Executive Director, Centre for Disease Control (CDC), were reportedly conducted on yesterday at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination by a panel constituted by the ministry, they added.
The move has raised questions within official circles about compliance with the NIH (Reorganisation) Act 2021, which vests the authority to advertise, screen, shortlist and recommend candidates for appointment as executive directors squarely with the Board of Governors of NIH, a body that has remained non-functional for the last couple of years.
Under the Act, executive directors of NIH institutes and centres are to be selected through a transparent and merit based process conducted by the Board of Governors, which is required to recommend names to the federal government for formal appointment. The law further provides that vacancies for these senior positions must be advertised both nationally and internationally, including on the websites of NIH and the Ministry of National Health Services, to attract the most competent professionals.
The health ministry had advertised both positions in local newspapers in October this year, inviting applications on a tenure basis. However, senior officials and legal experts argue that under the NIH Act, the recruitment process for such senior leadership positions cannot lawfully proceed in the absence of a duly notified BoG, which alone is empowered to prescribe qualifications, determine eligibility criteria, shortlist candidates and conduct interviews.
Under the NIH (Reorganisation) Act 2021, the Board of Governors is also required to personally interview shortlisted candidates and select executive directors on merit through a majority decision of the board. The tenure of the last BoG ended in early 2024, leaving NIH without a governing board for one and half years.
Officials familiar with the law said the Act leaves little room for alternative arrangements. “The law is very clear that the entire process, from advertisement to shortlisting and interviews, has to be led by the Board of Governors,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity. “Until the Board is constituted through the prescribed mechanism, these steps cannot be completed in the manner envisaged under the law.”
Concerns have also been raised about how the posts have been structured and advertised. The advertisements describe the positions as BPS 21 posts with a fixed four year tenure and specify age limits and other conditions commonly applicable to government pay scale positions. However, the Act provides that the terms and conditions of service of executive directors are to be prescribed by the Board of Governors, commensurate with the qualifications and experience required to ensure leadership of the highest capability.
Officials say that if the posts are treated as regular government pay scale appointments, standard civil service rules, including age restrictions, would apply. Alternatively, if the intent is to attract professionals outside the civil service, the positions would need to be converted to MP scales and processed strictly in accordance with government procedures for such recruitments.
“This lack of clarity creates legal and procedural complications,” said a senior bureaucrat. “Both options require proper approvals and, most importantly, oversight and endorsement by the governing board.”
The controversy over the executive director appointments comes amid an unresolved impasse over the constitution of the NIH Board of Governors itself. As previously reported, the federal health ministry in May this year recalled a summary sent to the federal cabinet for appointing the BoG, despite the completion of a months long search and nomination process led by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
The high powered search and nomination committee, constituted under the NIH (Reorganisation) Act 2021 and operating under the supervision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had finalised six names after a transparent and consultative process involving nominations from medical universities and institutions across the country. All shortlisted candidates had been vetted and cleared by intelligence agencies before the summary was forwarded for cabinet approval.
However, on the directives of ministry leadership, the summary was withdrawn, leaving NIH without a governing board. Officials within the health and planning ministries had warned at the time that recalling the summary would further delay key decisions and weaken governance at the country’s premier public health institution.
Under the NIH Act, the Board of Governors is responsible for approving strategic direction, policies, budgets, research priorities, surveillance activities, and oversight of vaccine and biological product manufacturing. Officials say the prolonged absence of the board has already slowed down decision making and affected institutional oversight.
Despite approaching the federal health secretary for the ministry’s version, no formal response was provided till the filing of this report.
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