Social media claims suggesting that male professors will be barred from teaching female students in Punjab universities from June 1 are false, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
The claim began circulating on April 22, with a viral Facebook post alleging that male professors would be removed from female classes and replaced by female staff. The post, shared over 90 times and liked by more than 1,100 users, was later echoed across multiple platforms.
Officials from the Higher Education Commission (HEC), the Punjab government, and two leading universities have denied the existence of any such policy. HEC Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed confirmed that the regulatory body had issued no instructions restricting male faculty from teaching female students.
Punjab’s Higher Education Minister’s spokesperson Noor ul Huda also dismissed the claim as baseless, citing practical staffing constraints that would make such segregation unfeasible. Academic heads from Government College University Faisalabad and University of the Punjab similarly confirmed that they had received no such directives.
Azma Zahid Bokhari, Punjab’s information minister, reiterated that the reports were fabricated and had no basis in fact.
