KARACHI (Web Desk) – Dean and Director of the Institute Business Administration (IBA), Karachi, Dr Ishrat Husain is going to retire by mid-2016, Express Tribune reported on Tuesday.
Mr Husain said he would complete his two four-year term in April and “does not want any extension for many reasons.” The IBA dean said: “Institutions should not depend upon a particular individual and personality, but be driven by faculty, alumni, systems and values.”
Mr Husain took charge of the IBA in May 2008 and since then has undertaken massive expansion vis-à-vis infrastructure development, student enrollment, number of programmes and PhD faculty members.
Under Mr Husain, the IBA introduced three new undergraduate programmes which include economics and mathematics, accounting and finance and social sciences and liberal arts.
Husain said, “I do not find my current job challenging anymore since I have accomplished what I had committed to do.”
He noted that he had completed the maximum number of terms allowed under the current law as IBA director, saying: “I do not want the rules to be changed to allow me a third term.
We should abide by laws and not bend them for the sake of individuals. This is my principled stand and I am sticking to it despite many pressures to agree to an extension.”
In his address at a convocation held her on Saturday, Mr Husain repeated his vision for the IBA.
“We are no longer a business school, but a high-quality, comprehensive institution of higher education. I want IBA to follow in the footsteps of famous US research institute i.e Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which started out as an engineering school, but later expanded into further disciplines.”
It is pertinent to mention here that IBA full-time faculty has 105, 60 PhDs degree holders and 20 are completing their PhDs. According to Husain, the ratio of PhD faculty is expected to rise to 80 percent in a few years.
Data released by IBA’s graduate placement office speaks volumes about the efficacy of the institute since IBA graduates have performed very well in the job market.
The average starting salary BBA graduates has been Rs59,200 per month while the average salary of MBA graduates of the class of 2015 was Rs78,200 per month.
Mr Husain has done PhD in economics from Boston University of the United States. His illustrious career includes working as a civil servant, World Bank director, State Bank of Pakistan governor and chairman of the National Commission for Government Reforms.
Mr Husain expressed his optimism about the future of IBA after his retirement and said: “Nobody is indispensable.”
