Students in limbo as Karachi University yet to announce two-year degree programme policy

• KU is yet to announce its policy on whether or not its affiliated colleges should offer admissions to the traditional two-year degree programme.
  
• The delay has resulted in confusion among the student body. Over 80 state-run colleges affiliated with KU have not announced admissions for academic year 2021.
  
• A commission had earlier phased out two-year programmes after academic year 2018 and subsequently 2019.
  

The Karachi University (KU) is yet to announce its policy on whether or not its affiliated colleges should offer admissions to the traditional two-year degree programme.

The delay in KU’s final verdict has resulted in confusion among the student body. More than 80 state-run colleges affiliated with KU have not announced admissions to their degree programmes for academic year 2021, The News reported Monday.

The two-year degree programmes have been nullified by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the two-year associate degree programmes were introduced by the commission instead.

Fate of thousands of students hangs in the balance

The fate of thousands of students is hanging in the balance due to this uncertainty.

Neither are the colleges offering admissions to the HEC-sanctioned associate programme, nor are they able to continue with the traditional BA and BSc or four-year BS programmes.

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“A majority of the colleges have no capacity to start the four-year BS, whereas, the academic council of Karachi University, in its two consecutive meetings held in 2017, had opposed the phasing out of two-year degree bachelors and masters programmes,” said Munir Alam Khan, a senior member of the Time Scale Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association.

“On the one hand, the HEC has already informed the students that two-year degrees will not be verified, but on the other hand, the affiliation body [KU] is not ready to accept the HEC policy,” Khan said.

What was HEC’s policy?

A notification issued on November 17, 2020 by the HEC read that the commission had phased out two-year programmes after the academic year 2018 and subsequently 2019.

The HEC expressed concern in the notification that those two-year programmes were still being offered by varsities and degree awarding institutes and their affiliated colleges.

“In this regard, varsities are directed not to offer admission in the two-year BA, BSc programs and that the degrees shall not be recognised by the HEC for students enrolled in the programs after December 2018,” the notification read. The commission also posted a message on its official website, warning students not to seek admissions to two-year degree programmes.

However, the HEC also clarified that the degree colleges could start two-year associate degree programmes introduced in 2011.

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As per the HEC’s official statement, the decision of abolishing the two-year degree programmes was taken in 2004 with the aim of enhancing the quality of degree programmes as per international standards.

The commission, however, granted a transition period until 2016 to the varsities for phasing out the said programmes.

The two-year associate degree programmes allowed by the HEC are a substitute for the bachelors of arts (BA) and bachelors of science (BSC) degree programmes and is equivalent to 14 years of education.

On the completion of an associate degree programme, the graduates can secure admissions to the fifth semesters of 4-year BS programmes.