Purpose Sustainability has globally become a mantra to address complex and unprecedented survival, social, political and peace issues. Higher education institutions bear responsibility to address them. This paper aims to explore barriers that Pakistani public universities (PPUs) face in embedding sustainability at their campuses. This paper also offers potential opportunities to take initiatives to minimize barriers and move towards a sustainable future. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on case study approach, and data were gathered through interviews and documents. Interviews with 11 academic administrators were conducted to gain deeper understanding on issues of governance and its influence on sustainability. Data were analysed using thematic analysis that created thematic map/model. Findings Key findings include, firstly, that majority of participants think poor governance is the biggest issue in demoting sustainability. This barrier causes an array of interconnected barriers. Secondly, participants strongly associate unsustainability with lack of institutional change and training. Finally, lack of resources was the most frequently articulated barrier. Findings provided a rationale to propose suggestions to promote sustainability. Originality/value Developed countries are leaders in promoting sustainability, whereas developing countries are laggards. Pakistan, a developing country, does not have substantial research to reveal the barriers PPUs are facing to promote sustainability. This paper is an attempt to address research gap in identifying barriers to sustainability.

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The transition of higher education institutions (HEIs) from a traditional role to a modern one has focused on the advancement of the innovative idea of sustainability in their functions. HEIs played their traditional role in promoting the disciplinary nature of teaching and research. The modern role of HEIs makes demands for not only knowledge to be promoted but also for the gap between academia and society to be bridged. This modern role is a fundamental principle of sustainability. Lack of understanding of the concept of sustainability causes hurdles in taking sustainable initiatives. The status of sustainability in Pakistan is in its infancy phase and poorly documented. It is due to the lack of conceptualizing sustainability that is underestimated and unexplored. This study explored how Pakistan Public Universities’ (PPUs) academic administrators conceptualize sustainability, universities’ role in promoting sustainability, and factors supporting or hindering sustainability. A qualitative approach was employed to conduct this study. Data were generated using semi-structured interviews and document analysis. A conceptual framework, comprising the role of universities, barriers and favourable factors to sustainability was used to analyse the data. Interviewees’ responses and documents were meticulously transcribed, read, re-read and coded and findings were presented in thematic form based on the conceptual framework. The study found that academic administrators were aware of the subject of sustainability but faced more constraints than incentives to promote sustainability. The study also found that PPUs are transforming partially into modern role. The findings indicated lack of interest and commitment from top leadership in engaging stakeholders and creating supportive environment to understand sustainability. The findings point out a serious need for concerted efforts from relevant stakeholders to comprehend and embed sustainability in HEIs functions.

The success of schools in the current era demands ever-increasing efforts from their principals. Professional development is an essential ingredient that enables them to work in diverse scenarios and deal with competing, complex, and unprecedented challenges and issues. The present study intends to explore principals’ professional development and its relationship with their roles and the challenges they face. Quantitative approach was employed to conduct this study. One hundred principals were selected based on the purposive sampling technique. Data were collected on a five-point rating scale from the principals of higher secondary schools in Lahore through a physically administered survey method. The questionnaire measured the participants' perceptions on three dimensions: professional development, roles, and challenges. Data were analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The impact of the professional development on the role participants’ play and the challenges they face in schools' leadership were calculated using the regression analysis technique. The study found that professional development was a significant predictor in school efficiency/improvement, and school success depends heavily upon the professional development and the role of schools’ principals. It also shows a need to reprioritize the roles that principals play in leading their schools. The challenges about students show that further professional development is required for principals to improve their efficiency in school improvement. The challenges due to financial resources also indicate the need for financial management. The study concluded that professional development should be monitored and kept updated to improve schools' leadership.