Missing essentials: Students distressed as university withholds postgrad diplomas

Admin says students failed to meet prerequisite MSc degrees


Our Correspondent April 24, 2015
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HARIPUR: The University of Haripur (UoH) has failed to announce results for the Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology, students told The Express Tribune.

According to insiders, the year-long programme divided into three semesters was launched in 2012. In 2013, the institute enrolled 18 students in its second batch and classes began in October of the same year. However, students said the programme which was expected to end in October 2014 was extended for unknown reasons. The students took their viva exam on December 5. Four months on, the exam controller has yet to announce their results. As a result, students have been forced to delay job applications.

“The administration is wasting our time,” said a student on Thursday. According to the student, she studied the course to increase her chances at getting a lucrative job.

“However, I have lost out on so many opportunities, waiting for results to be announced,” she added.

Another student who obtained an MSc in Psychology from a private college in Abbottabad told The Express Tribune that the university’s administration had promised the diploma would be widely recognised.

Degree before diploma

When contacted, the chairman of the university’s psychology department, Dr Muhammad Tariq Khan, said the examination controller withheld the results because apart from two, the students did not have an MSc in Psychology.

“We admitted students on the basis of hope certificates obtained from their colleges and departments which stated they would complete their degrees within the next three months,” he said. “However, 16 students did not submit their thesis and were not issued their degrees. The administration will therefore not give them a diploma.”

A student countered this claim, saying 50% of students had obtained their prerequisite degree. “A majority of students were awarded degrees from private colleges,” she said. “Students from UoH who were studying the same degree were given admission on hope certificates. I strongly urge the administration to issue diplomas to those who have obtained their degrees without further delay.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2015. 

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