Has HEC abolished Pakistan Studies from degree programmes?

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Murtaza Solangi on Monday informed the Senate that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had neither decided nor given any suggestion to the universities to eliminate Pakistan Studies or any particular course of study from their degree programmes. 

Responding to a motion moved by Senator Mushtaq Ahmed regarding the abolition of the subject of Pakistan Affairs by the HEC from the syllabus at the graduation level, Solangi said: “As per the concerned ministry and HEC, no decision or proposal has been issued to abolish the subject of Pakistan Affairs or any other course from the syllabus at the graduation level.”

He further elaborated that all undergraduate policies recommended by the HEC encompassed the minimum standards required for such programmes, adding universities were operating autonomously within the framework of their respective laws. 

Solangi went on to say that a course on Pakistan's ideology and the Constitution had been introduced for all undergraduate degree programmes. The minister said this course was a blend of Pakistan Studies and the Constitution. 

He said the HEC was also holding consultations with the concerned stakeholders to prepare a two-credit-hour compulsory course for all undergraduate degree programmes. 

Senators Walid Iqbal, Prof Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, Fawzia Arshad, Sania Nishtar, Syed Waqar Mehdi, and Ali Zafar collectively called for the immediate reinstatement of the Pakistan Studies subject. 

They proposed incorporating the recently introduced subject on the Ideology and Constitution of Pakistan as an additional chapter within the curriculum.